Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1177/23312165241265199
M Blümer, J Heeren, B Mirkovic, M Latzel, C Gordon, D Crowhen, M Meis, K Wagener, M Schulte
Participation in complex listening situations such as group conversations in noisy environments sets high demands on the auditory system and on cognitive processing. Reports of hearing-impaired people indicate that strenuous listening situations occurring throughout the day lead to feelings of fatigue at the end of the day. The aim of the present study was to develop a suitable test sequence to evoke and measure listening effort (LE) and listening-related fatigue (LRF), and, to evaluate the influence of hearing aid use on both dimensions in mild to moderately hearing-impaired participants. The chosen approach aims to reconstruct a representative acoustic day (Time Compressed Acoustic Day [TCAD]) by means of an eight-part hearing-test sequence with a total duration of approximately 2½ h. For this purpose, the hearing test sequence combined four different listening tasks with five different acoustic scenarios and was presented to the 20 test subjects using virtual acoustics in an open field measurement in aided and unaided conditions. Besides subjective ratings of LE and LRF, behavioral measures (response accuracy, reaction times), and an attention test (d2-R) were performed prior to and after the TCAD. Furthermore, stress hormones were evaluated by taking salivary samples. Subjective ratings of LRF increased throughout the test sequence. This effect was observed to be higher when testing unaided. In three of the eight listening tests, the aided condition led to significantly faster reaction times/response accuracies than in the unaided condition. In the d2-R test, an interaction in processing speed between time (pre- vs. post-TCAD) and provision (unaided vs. aided) was found suggesting an influence of hearing aid provision on LRF. A comparison of the averaged subjective ratings at the beginning and end of the TCAD shows a significant increase in LRF for both conditions. At the end of the TCAD, subjective fatigue was significantly lower when wearing hearing aids. The analysis of stress hormones did not reveal significant effects.
{"title":"The Impact of Hearing Aids on Listening Effort and Listening-Related Fatigue - Investigations in a Virtual Realistic Listening Environment.","authors":"M Blümer, J Heeren, B Mirkovic, M Latzel, C Gordon, D Crowhen, M Meis, K Wagener, M Schulte","doi":"10.1177/23312165241265199","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23312165241265199","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Participation in complex listening situations such as group conversations in noisy environments sets high demands on the auditory system and on cognitive processing. Reports of hearing-impaired people indicate that strenuous listening situations occurring throughout the day lead to feelings of fatigue at the end of the day. The aim of the present study was to develop a suitable test sequence to evoke and measure listening effort (LE) and listening-related fatigue (LRF), and, to evaluate the influence of hearing aid use on both dimensions in mild to moderately hearing-impaired participants. The chosen approach aims to reconstruct a representative acoustic day (Time Compressed Acoustic Day [TCAD]) by means of an eight-part hearing-test sequence with a total duration of approximately 2½ h. For this purpose, the hearing test sequence combined four different listening tasks with five different acoustic scenarios and was presented to the 20 test subjects using virtual acoustics in an open field measurement in aided and unaided conditions. Besides subjective ratings of LE and LRF, behavioral measures (response accuracy, reaction times), and an attention test (d2-R) were performed prior to and after the TCAD. Furthermore, stress hormones were evaluated by taking salivary samples. Subjective ratings of LRF increased throughout the test sequence. This effect was observed to be higher when testing unaided. In three of the eight listening tests, the aided condition led to significantly faster reaction times/response accuracies than in the unaided condition. In the d2-R test, an interaction in processing speed between time (pre- vs. post-TCAD) and provision (unaided vs. aided) was found suggesting an influence of hearing aid provision on LRF. A comparison of the averaged subjective ratings at the beginning and end of the TCAD shows a significant increase in LRF for both conditions. At the end of the TCAD, subjective fatigue was significantly lower when wearing hearing aids. The analysis of stress hormones did not reveal significant effects.</p>","PeriodicalId":48678,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Hearing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11378347/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141879687","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1177/23312165241229572
Virginia Best, Elin Roverud
Subjective reports indicate that hearing aids can disrupt sound externalization and/or reduce the perceived distance of sounds. Here we conducted an experiment to explore this phenomenon and to quantify how frequently it occurs for different hearing-aid styles. Of particular interest were the effects of microphone position (behind the ear vs. in the ear) and dome type (closed vs. open). Participants were young adults with normal hearing or with bilateral hearing loss, who were fitted with hearing aids that allowed variations in the microphone position and the dome type. They were seated in a large sound-treated booth and presented with monosyllabic words from loudspeakers at a distance of 1.5 m. Their task was to rate the perceived externalization of each word using a rating scale that ranged from 10 (at the loudspeaker in front) to 0 (in the head) to -10 (behind the listener). On average, compared to unaided listening, hearing aids tended to reduce perceived distance and lead to more in-the-head responses. This was especially true for closed domes in combination with behind-the-ear microphones. The behavioral data along with acoustical recordings made in the ear canals of a manikin suggest that increased low-frequency ear-canal levels (with closed domes) and ambiguous spatial cues (with behind-the-ear microphones) may both contribute to breakdowns of externalization.
{"title":"Externalization of Speech When Listening With Hearing Aids.","authors":"Virginia Best, Elin Roverud","doi":"10.1177/23312165241229572","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23312165241229572","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Subjective reports indicate that hearing aids can disrupt sound externalization and/or reduce the perceived distance of sounds. Here we conducted an experiment to explore this phenomenon and to quantify how frequently it occurs for different hearing-aid styles. Of particular interest were the effects of microphone position (behind the ear vs. in the ear) and dome type (closed vs. open). Participants were young adults with normal hearing or with bilateral hearing loss, who were fitted with hearing aids that allowed variations in the microphone position and the dome type. They were seated in a large sound-treated booth and presented with monosyllabic words from loudspeakers at a distance of 1.5 m. Their task was to rate the perceived externalization of each word using a rating scale that ranged from 10 (at the loudspeaker in front) to 0 (in the head) to -10 (behind the listener). On average, compared to unaided listening, hearing aids tended to reduce perceived distance and lead to more in-the-head responses. This was especially true for closed domes in combination with behind-the-ear microphones. The behavioral data along with acoustical recordings made in the ear canals of a manikin suggest that increased low-frequency ear-canal levels (with closed domes) and ambiguous spatial cues (with behind-the-ear microphones) may both contribute to breakdowns of externalization.</p>","PeriodicalId":48678,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Hearing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10865954/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1177/23312165241234202
Jie Wang, Sijia Xie, Stefan Stenfelt, Huali Zhou, Xiaoya Wang, Jinqiu Sang
This study investigates the effect of spatial release from masking (SRM) in bilateral bone conduction (BC) stimulation at the mastoid. Nine adults with normal hearing were tested to determine SRM based on speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) in simulated spatial configurations ranging from 0 to 180 degrees. These configurations were based on nonindividualized head-related transfer functions. The participants were subjected to sound stimulation through either air conduction (AC) via headphones or BC. The results indicated that both the angular separation between the target and the masker, and the modality of sound stimulation, significantly influenced speech recognition performance. As the angular separation between the target and the masker increased up to 150°, both BC and AC SRTs decreased, indicating improved performance. However, performance slightly deteriorated when the angular separation exceeded 150°. For spatial separations less than 75°, BC stimulation provided greater spatial benefits than AC, although this difference was not statistically significant. For separations greater than 75°, AC stimulation offered significantly more spatial benefits than BC. When speech and noise originated from the same side of the head, the "better ear effect" did not significantly contribute to SRM. However, when speech and noise were located on opposite sides of the head, this effect became dominant in SRM.
本研究调查了在乳突处进行双侧骨传导(BC)刺激时,掩蔽的空间释放(SRM)效果。九名听力正常的成年人接受了测试,以确定在 0 到 180 度的模拟空间配置中基于语音识别阈值 (SRT) 的 SRM。这些配置基于非个性化的头部相关传递函数。参与者通过耳机或 BC 接受空气传导(AC)的声音刺激。结果表明,目标和掩蔽者之间的角度间隔以及声音刺激方式都会对语音识别成绩产生显著影响。当目标与掩蔽者之间的角度间隔增加到 150°时,BC 和 AC SRT 均下降,表明语音识别能力有所提高。但是,当角度间隔超过 150° 时,语音识别能力略有下降。当空间间隔小于 75°时,BC 刺激比 AC 刺激带来的空间益处更大,尽管这种差异在统计学上并不显著。当空间间隔大于 75°时,交流刺激的空间效益明显高于 BC。当语音和噪声来自头部的同一侧时,"顺耳效应 "对 SRM 的影响不大。然而,当语言和噪声位于头部的两侧时,这种效应在 SRM 中变得占主导地位。
{"title":"Spatial Release From Masking With Bilateral Bone Conduction Stimulation at Mastoid for Normal Hearing Subjects.","authors":"Jie Wang, Sijia Xie, Stefan Stenfelt, Huali Zhou, Xiaoya Wang, Jinqiu Sang","doi":"10.1177/23312165241234202","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23312165241234202","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study investigates the effect of spatial release from masking (SRM) in bilateral bone conduction (BC) stimulation at the mastoid. Nine adults with normal hearing were tested to determine SRM based on speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) in simulated spatial configurations ranging from 0 to 180 degrees. These configurations were based on nonindividualized head-related transfer functions. The participants were subjected to sound stimulation through either air conduction (AC) via headphones or BC. The results indicated that both the angular separation between the target and the masker, and the modality of sound stimulation, significantly influenced speech recognition performance. As the angular separation between the target and the masker increased up to 150°, both BC and AC SRTs decreased, indicating improved performance. However, performance slightly deteriorated when the angular separation exceeded 150°. For spatial separations less than 75°, BC stimulation provided greater spatial benefits than AC, although this difference was not statistically significant. For separations greater than 75°, AC stimulation offered significantly more spatial benefits than BC. When speech and noise originated from the same side of the head, the \"better ear effect\" did not significantly contribute to SRM. However, when speech and noise were located on opposite sides of the head, this effect became dominant in SRM.</p>","PeriodicalId":48678,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Hearing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10981249/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140319549","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1177/23312165241263485
Dana Cherri, David A Eddins, Erol J Ozmeral
Older adults with normal hearing or with age-related hearing loss face challenges when listening to speech in noisy environments. To better serve individuals with communication difficulties, precision diagnostics are needed to characterize individuals' auditory perceptual and cognitive abilities beyond pure tone thresholds. These abilities can be heterogenous across individuals within the same population. The goal of the present study is to consider the suprathreshold variability and develop characteristic profiles for older adults with normal hearing (ONH) and with hearing loss (OHL). Auditory perceptual and cognitive abilities were tested on ONH (n = 20) and OHL (n = 20) on an abbreviated test battery using portable automated rapid testing. Using cluster analyses, three main profiles were revealed for each group, showing differences in auditory perceptual and cognitive abilities despite similar audiometric thresholds. Analysis of variance showed that ONH profiles differed in spatial release from masking, speech-in-babble testing, cognition, tone-in-noise, and binaural temporal processing abilities. The OHL profiles differed in spatial release from masking, speech-in-babble testing, cognition, and tolerance to background noise performance. Correlation analyses showed significant relationships between auditory and cognitive abilities in both groups. This study showed that auditory perceptual and cognitive deficits can be present to varying degrees in the presence of audiometrically normal hearing and among listeners with similar degrees of hearing loss. The results of this study inform the need for taking individual differences into consideration and developing targeted intervention options beyond pure tone thresholds and speech testing.
{"title":"A Step Toward Precision Audiology: Individual Differences and Characteristic Profiles From Auditory Perceptual and Cognitive Abilities.","authors":"Dana Cherri, David A Eddins, Erol J Ozmeral","doi":"10.1177/23312165241263485","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23312165241263485","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Older adults with normal hearing or with age-related hearing loss face challenges when listening to speech in noisy environments. To better serve individuals with communication difficulties, precision diagnostics are needed to characterize individuals' auditory perceptual and cognitive abilities beyond pure tone thresholds. These abilities can be heterogenous across individuals within the same population. The goal of the present study is to consider the suprathreshold variability and develop characteristic profiles for older adults with normal hearing (ONH) and with hearing loss (OHL). Auditory perceptual and cognitive abilities were tested on ONH (<i>n</i> = 20) and OHL (<i>n</i> = 20) on an abbreviated test battery using portable automated rapid testing. Using cluster analyses, three main profiles were revealed for each group, showing differences in auditory perceptual and cognitive abilities despite similar audiometric thresholds. Analysis of variance showed that ONH profiles differed in spatial release from masking, speech-in-babble testing, cognition, tone-in-noise, and binaural temporal processing abilities. The OHL profiles differed in spatial release from masking, speech-in-babble testing, cognition, and tolerance to background noise performance. Correlation analyses showed significant relationships between auditory and cognitive abilities in both groups. This study showed that auditory perceptual and cognitive deficits can be present to varying degrees in the presence of audiometrically normal hearing and among listeners with similar degrees of hearing loss. The results of this study inform the need for taking individual differences into consideration and developing targeted intervention options beyond pure tone thresholds and speech testing.</p>","PeriodicalId":48678,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Hearing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11301744/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141890636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1177/23312165231224597
Michal Fereczkowski, Raul H Sanchez-Lopez, Stine Christiansen, Tobias Neher
Hearing aids provide nonlinear amplification to improve speech audibility and loudness perception. While more audibility typically increases speech intelligibility at low levels, the same is not true for above-conversational levels, where decreases in intelligibility ("rollover") can occur. In a previous study, we found rollover in speech intelligibility measurements made in quiet for 35 out of 74 test ears with a hearing loss. Furthermore, we found rollover occurrence in quiet to be associated with poorer speech intelligibility in noise as measured with linear amplification. Here, we retested 16 participants with rollover with three amplitude-compression settings. Two were designed to prevent rollover by applying slow- or fast-acting compression with a 5:1 compression ratio around the "sweet spot," that is, the area in an individual performance-intensity function with high intelligibility and listening comfort. The third, reference setting used gains and compression ratios prescribed by the "National Acoustic Laboratories Non-Linear 1" rule. Speech intelligibility was assessed in quiet and in noise. Pairwise preference judgments were also collected. For speech levels of 70 dB SPL and above, slow-acting sweet-spot compression gave better intelligibility in quiet and noise than the reference setting. Additionally, the participants clearly preferred slow-acting sweet-spot compression over the other settings. At lower levels, the three settings gave comparable speech intelligibility, and the participants preferred the reference setting over both sweet-spot settings. Overall, these results suggest that, for listeners with rollover, slow-acting sweet-spot compression is beneficial at 70 dB SPL and above, while at lower levels clinically established gain targets are more suited.
{"title":"Amplitude Compression for Preventing Rollover at Above-Conversational Speech Levels.","authors":"Michal Fereczkowski, Raul H Sanchez-Lopez, Stine Christiansen, Tobias Neher","doi":"10.1177/23312165231224597","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23312165231224597","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hearing aids provide nonlinear amplification to improve speech audibility and loudness perception. While more audibility typically increases speech intelligibility at low levels, the same is not true for above-conversational levels, where decreases in intelligibility (\"rollover\") can occur. In a previous study, we found rollover in speech intelligibility measurements made in quiet for 35 out of 74 test ears with a hearing loss. Furthermore, we found rollover occurrence in quiet to be associated with poorer speech intelligibility in noise as measured with linear amplification. Here, we retested 16 participants with rollover with three amplitude-compression settings. Two were designed to prevent rollover by applying slow- or fast-acting compression with a 5:1 compression ratio around the \"sweet spot,\" that is, the area in an individual performance-intensity function with high intelligibility and listening comfort. The third, reference setting used gains and compression ratios prescribed by the \"National Acoustic Laboratories Non-Linear 1\" rule. Speech intelligibility was assessed in quiet and in noise. Pairwise preference judgments were also collected. For speech levels of 70 dB SPL and above, slow-acting sweet-spot compression gave better intelligibility in quiet and noise than the reference setting. Additionally, the participants clearly preferred slow-acting sweet-spot compression over the other settings. At lower levels, the three settings gave comparable speech intelligibility, and the participants preferred the reference setting over both sweet-spot settings. Overall, these results suggest that, for listeners with rollover, slow-acting sweet-spot compression is beneficial at 70 dB SPL and above, while at lower levels clinically established gain targets are more suited.</p>","PeriodicalId":48678,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Hearing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10771052/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139099037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1177/23312165241239541
Naomi F Bramhall, Garnett P McMillan
Cochlear synaptopathy, a form of cochlear deafferentation, has been demonstrated in a number of animal species, including non-human primates. Both age and noise exposure contribute to synaptopathy in animal models, indicating that it may be a common type of auditory dysfunction in humans. Temporal bone and auditory physiological data suggest that age and occupational/military noise exposure also lead to synaptopathy in humans. The predicted perceptual consequences of synaptopathy include tinnitus, hyperacusis, and difficulty with speech-in-noise perception. However, confirming the perceptual impacts of this form of cochlear deafferentation presents a particular challenge because synaptopathy can only be confirmed through post-mortem temporal bone analysis and auditory perception is difficult to evaluate in animals. Animal data suggest that deafferentation leads to increased central gain, signs of tinnitus and abnormal loudness perception, and deficits in temporal processing and signal-in-noise detection. If equivalent changes occur in humans following deafferentation, this would be expected to increase the likelihood of developing tinnitus, hyperacusis, and difficulty with speech-in-noise perception. Physiological data from humans is consistent with the hypothesis that deafferentation is associated with increased central gain and a greater likelihood of tinnitus perception, while human data on the relationship between deafferentation and hyperacusis is extremely limited. Many human studies have investigated the relationship between physiological correlates of deafferentation and difficulty with speech-in-noise perception, with mixed findings. A non-linear relationship between deafferentation and speech perception may have contributed to the mixed results. When differences in sample characteristics and study measurements are considered, the findings may be more consistent.
{"title":"Perceptual Consequences of Cochlear Deafferentation in Humans.","authors":"Naomi F Bramhall, Garnett P McMillan","doi":"10.1177/23312165241239541","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23312165241239541","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cochlear synaptopathy, a form of cochlear deafferentation, has been demonstrated in a number of animal species, including non-human primates. Both age and noise exposure contribute to synaptopathy in animal models, indicating that it may be a common type of auditory dysfunction in humans. Temporal bone and auditory physiological data suggest that age and occupational/military noise exposure also lead to synaptopathy in humans. The predicted perceptual consequences of synaptopathy include tinnitus, hyperacusis, and difficulty with speech-in-noise perception. However, confirming the perceptual impacts of this form of cochlear deafferentation presents a particular challenge because synaptopathy can only be confirmed through post-mortem temporal bone analysis and auditory perception is difficult to evaluate in animals. Animal data suggest that deafferentation leads to increased central gain, signs of tinnitus and abnormal loudness perception, and deficits in temporal processing and signal-in-noise detection. If equivalent changes occur in humans following deafferentation, this would be expected to increase the likelihood of developing tinnitus, hyperacusis, and difficulty with speech-in-noise perception. Physiological data from humans is consistent with the hypothesis that deafferentation is associated with increased central gain and a greater likelihood of tinnitus perception, while human data on the relationship between deafferentation and hyperacusis is extremely limited. Many human studies have investigated the relationship between physiological correlates of deafferentation and difficulty with speech-in-noise perception, with mixed findings. A non-linear relationship between deafferentation and speech perception may have contributed to the mixed results. When differences in sample characteristics and study measurements are considered, the findings may be more consistent.</p>","PeriodicalId":48678,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Hearing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11092548/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140913237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1177/23312165241262517
Daniel Oberfeld, Katharina Staab, Florian Kattner, Wolfgang Ellermeier
Listeners with normal audiometric thresholds show substantial variability in their ability to understand speech in noise (SiN). These individual differences have been reported to be associated with a range of auditory and cognitive abilities. The present study addresses the association between SiN processing and the individual susceptibility of short-term memory to auditory distraction (i.e., the irrelevant sound effect [ISE]). In a sample of 67 young adult participants with normal audiometric thresholds, we measured speech recognition performance in a spatial listening task with two interfering talkers (speech-in-speech identification), audiometric thresholds, binaural sensitivity to the temporal fine structure (interaural phase differences [IPD]), serial memory with and without interfering talkers, and self-reported noise sensitivity. Speech-in-speech processing was not significantly associated with the ISE. The most important predictors of high speech-in-speech recognition performance were a large short-term memory span, low IPD thresholds, bilaterally symmetrical audiometric thresholds, and low individual noise sensitivity. Surprisingly, the susceptibility of short-term memory to irrelevant sound accounted for a substantially smaller amount of variance in speech-in-speech processing than the nondisrupted short-term memory capacity. The data confirm the role of binaural sensitivity to the temporal fine structure, although its association to SiN recognition was weaker than in some previous studies. The inverse association between self-reported noise sensitivity and SiN processing deserves further investigation.
听力阈值正常的听者在理解噪声语音(SiN)的能力上存在很大差异。据报道,这些个体差异与一系列听觉和认知能力有关。本研究探讨了噪音语言处理能力与个体短期记忆对听觉干扰(即无关声音效应 [ISE])的敏感性之间的关联。我们以听阈正常的 67 名年轻成年参与者为样本,测量了在有两个干扰说话者的空间听力任务中的语音识别成绩(语音中的语音识别)、听阈、对时间精细结构的双耳敏感度(耳间相位差 [IPD])、有干扰说话者和无干扰说话者的序列记忆以及自我报告的噪声敏感度。语音中的语音处理与 ISE 没有明显关联。短期记忆跨度大、IPD阈值低、双侧听力阈值对称和个体噪声敏感度低是预测高语音识别能力的最重要因素。令人惊讶的是,短期记忆对无关声音的易感性在语音-语音处理中造成的差异远远小于未受干扰的短期记忆能力。这些数据证实了双耳对时间精细结构的敏感性所起的作用,尽管它与 SiN 识别的关联性比以前的一些研究要弱。自我报告的噪声敏感度与 SiN 处理之间的反向关联值得进一步研究。
{"title":"Is Recognition of Speech in Noise Related to Memory Disruption Caused by Irrelevant Sound?","authors":"Daniel Oberfeld, Katharina Staab, Florian Kattner, Wolfgang Ellermeier","doi":"10.1177/23312165241262517","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23312165241262517","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Listeners with normal audiometric thresholds show substantial variability in their ability to understand speech in noise (SiN). These individual differences have been reported to be associated with a range of auditory and cognitive abilities. The present study addresses the association between SiN processing and the individual susceptibility of short-term memory to auditory distraction (i.e., the irrelevant sound effect [ISE]). In a sample of 67 young adult participants with normal audiometric thresholds, we measured speech recognition performance in a spatial listening task with two interfering talkers (speech-in-speech identification), audiometric thresholds, binaural sensitivity to the temporal fine structure (interaural phase differences [IPD]), serial memory with and without interfering talkers, and self-reported noise sensitivity. Speech-in-speech processing was not significantly associated with the ISE. The most important predictors of high speech-in-speech recognition performance were a large short-term memory span, low IPD thresholds, bilaterally symmetrical audiometric thresholds, and low individual noise sensitivity. Surprisingly, the susceptibility of short-term memory to irrelevant sound accounted for a substantially smaller amount of variance in speech-in-speech processing than the nondisrupted short-term memory capacity. The data confirm the role of binaural sensitivity to the temporal fine structure, although its association to SiN recognition was weaker than in some previous studies. The inverse association between self-reported noise sensitivity and SiN processing deserves further investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":48678,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Hearing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11273587/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141761865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1177/23312165241232219
L Behtani, D Paromov, K Moïn-Darbari, M S Houde, B A Bacon, M Maheu, T Leroux, F Champoux
Recent studies suggest that sound amplification via hearing aids can improve postural control in adults with hearing impairments. Unfortunately, only a few studies used well-defined posturography measures to assess balance in adults with hearing loss with and without their hearing aids. Of these, only two examined postural control specifically in the elderly with hearing loss. The present study examined the impact of hearing aid use on postural control during various sensory perturbations in older adults with age-related hearing loss. Thirty individuals with age-related hearing impairments and using hearing aids bilaterally were tested. Participants were asked to perform a modified clinical sensory integration in balance test on a force platform with and without hearing aids. The experiment was conducted in the presence of a broadband noise ranging from 0.1 to 4 kHz presented through a loudspeaker. As expected, hearing aid use had a beneficial impact on postural control, but only when visual and somatosensory inputs were both reduced. Data also suggest that hearing aid use decreases the dependence on somatosensory input for maintaining postural control. This finding can be of particular importance in older adults considering the reduction of tactile and proprioceptive sensitivity and acuity often associated with aging. These results provide an additional argument for encouraging early hearing aid fitting for people with hearing loss.
{"title":"Hearing Aid Amplification Improves Postural Control for Older Adults With Hearing Loss When Other Sensory Cues Are Impoverished.","authors":"L Behtani, D Paromov, K Moïn-Darbari, M S Houde, B A Bacon, M Maheu, T Leroux, F Champoux","doi":"10.1177/23312165241232219","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23312165241232219","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Recent studies suggest that sound amplification via hearing aids can improve postural control in adults with hearing impairments. Unfortunately, only a few studies used well-defined posturography measures to assess balance in adults with hearing loss with and without their hearing aids. Of these, only two examined postural control specifically in the elderly with hearing loss. The present study examined the impact of hearing aid use on postural control during various sensory perturbations in older adults with age-related hearing loss. Thirty individuals with age-related hearing impairments and using hearing aids bilaterally were tested. Participants were asked to perform a modified clinical sensory integration in balance test on a force platform with and without hearing aids. The experiment was conducted in the presence of a broadband noise ranging from 0.1 to 4 kHz presented through a loudspeaker. As expected, hearing aid use had a beneficial impact on postural control, but only when visual and somatosensory inputs were both reduced. Data also suggest that hearing aid use decreases the dependence on somatosensory input for maintaining postural control. This finding can be of particular importance in older adults considering the reduction of tactile and proprioceptive sensitivity and acuity often associated with aging. These results provide an additional argument for encouraging early hearing aid fitting for people with hearing loss.</p>","PeriodicalId":48678,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Hearing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10868491/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139736482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1177/23312165231224643
Dianne J Mecklenburg, Petra L Graham, Chris J James
Cochlear implantation successfully improves hearing in most adult recipients. However, in rare cases, post-implant rehabilitation is required to maximize benefit. The primary aim of this investigation was to test if self-reports by cochlear implant users indicate the need for post-implant rehabilitation. Listening performance was assessed with the Speech, Spatial and Qualities short-form SSQ12, which was self-administered via a web-based survey. Subjects included over 2000 adult bilateral or unilateral cochlear implant users with at least one year of experience. A novel application of regression tree analysis identified core SSQ12 items that serve as first steps in establishing a plan for further rehabilitation: items 1, 8, and 11 dealing with single-talker situations, loudness perception, and clarity, respectively. Further regression and classification tree analyses revealed that SSQ12 item scores were weakly related to age, degree of tinnitus, and use of bilateral versus unilateral implants. Conversely, SSQ12 scores were strongly associated with self-rated satisfaction and confidence in using their cochlear implant. The SSQ12 total scores did not vary significantly over 1-9 or more years' experience. These findings suggest that the SSQ12 may be a useful tool to guide rehabilitation at any time after cochlear implantation. Identification of poor performance may have implications for timely management to improve the outcomes, through various techniques such as device fitting adjustments, counseling, active sound exposure, and training spatial hearing.
{"title":"Relationships Between Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Short Form SSQ12 Item Scores and their Use in Guiding Rehabilitation for Cochlear Implant Recipients.","authors":"Dianne J Mecklenburg, Petra L Graham, Chris J James","doi":"10.1177/23312165231224643","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23312165231224643","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cochlear implantation successfully improves hearing in most adult recipients. However, in rare cases, post-implant rehabilitation is required to maximize benefit. The primary aim of this investigation was to test if self-reports by cochlear implant users indicate the need for post-implant rehabilitation. Listening performance was assessed with the Speech, Spatial and Qualities short-form SSQ12, which was self-administered via a web-based survey. Subjects included over 2000 adult bilateral or unilateral cochlear implant users with at least one year of experience. A novel application of regression tree analysis identified core SSQ12 items that serve as first steps in establishing a plan for further rehabilitation: items 1, 8, and 11 dealing with single-talker situations, loudness perception, and clarity, respectively. Further regression and classification tree analyses revealed that SSQ12 item scores were weakly related to age, degree of tinnitus, and use of bilateral versus unilateral implants. Conversely, SSQ12 scores were strongly associated with self-rated satisfaction and confidence in using their cochlear implant. The SSQ12 total scores did not vary significantly over 1-9 or more years' experience. These findings suggest that the SSQ12 may be a useful tool to guide rehabilitation at any time after cochlear implantation. Identification of poor performance may have implications for timely management to improve the outcomes, through various techniques such as device fitting adjustments, counseling, active sound exposure, and training spatial hearing.</p>","PeriodicalId":48678,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Hearing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10874150/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139742321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-01DOI: 10.1177/23312165241260621
Mira Van Wilderode, Nathan Van Humbeeck, Ralf Krampe, Astrid van Wieringen
While listening, we commonly participate in simultaneous activities. For instance, at receptions people often stand while engaging in conversation. It is known that listening and postural control are associated with each other. Previous studies focused on the interplay of listening and postural control when the speech identification task had rather high cognitive control demands. This study aimed to determine whether listening and postural control interact when the speech identification task requires minimal cognitive control, i.e., when words are presented without background noise, or a large memory load. This study included 22 young adults, 27 middle-aged adults, and 21 older adults. Participants performed a speech identification task (auditory single task), a postural control task (posture single task) and combined postural control and speech identification tasks (dual task) to assess the effects of multitasking. The difficulty levels of the listening and postural control tasks were manipulated by altering the level of the words (25 or 30 dB SPL) and the mobility of the platform (stable or moving). The sound level was increased for adults with a hearing impairment. In the dual-task, listening performance decreased, especially for middle-aged and older adults, while postural control improved. These results suggest that even when cognitive control demands for listening are minimal, interaction with postural control occurs. Correlational analysis revealed that hearing loss was a better predictor than age of speech identification and postural control.
在聆听时,我们通常会同时参与一些活动。例如,在招待会上,人们常常一边站着一边交谈。众所周知,听力和姿势控制是相互关联的。以前的研究主要集中在语音识别任务对认知控制要求较高时,听力和姿势控制的相互作用。本研究旨在确定当语音识别任务对认知控制要求最低时,即单词出现时没有背景噪音,或记忆负荷较大时,听力和姿势控制是否会相互作用。这项研究包括 22 名年轻人、27 名中年人和 21 名老年人。受试者分别完成了语音识别任务(听觉单一任务)、姿势控制任务(姿势单一任务)以及姿势控制和语音识别联合任务(双重任务),以评估多任务的影响。听力和姿势控制任务的难度是通过改变词语的音量(25 或 30 dB SPL)和平台的移动性(稳定或移动)来控制的。对于有听力障碍的成年人,声级会提高。在双重任务中,听力表现下降,尤其是中老年人,而姿势控制能力则有所提高。这些结果表明,即使对听力的认知控制要求很低,也会与姿势控制发生相互作用。相关分析表明,听力损失比年龄更能预测语言识别能力和姿势控制能力。
{"title":"Speech-Identification During Standing as a Multitasking Challenge for Young, Middle-Aged and Older Adults.","authors":"Mira Van Wilderode, Nathan Van Humbeeck, Ralf Krampe, Astrid van Wieringen","doi":"10.1177/23312165241260621","DOIUrl":"10.1177/23312165241260621","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While listening, we commonly participate in simultaneous activities. For instance, at receptions people often stand while engaging in conversation. It is known that listening and postural control are associated with each other. Previous studies focused on the interplay of listening and postural control when the speech identification task had rather high cognitive control demands. This study aimed to determine whether listening and postural control interact when the speech identification task requires minimal cognitive control, i.e., when words are presented without background noise, or a large memory load. This study included 22 young adults, 27 middle-aged adults, and 21 older adults. Participants performed a speech identification task (auditory single task), a postural control task (posture single task) and combined postural control and speech identification tasks (dual task) to assess the effects of multitasking. The difficulty levels of the listening and postural control tasks were manipulated by altering the level of the words (25 or 30 dB SPL) and the mobility of the platform (stable or moving). The sound level was increased for adults with a hearing impairment. In the dual-task, listening performance decreased, especially for middle-aged and older adults, while postural control improved. These results suggest that even when cognitive control demands for listening are minimal, interaction with postural control occurs. Correlational analysis revealed that hearing loss was a better predictor than age of speech identification and postural control.</p>","PeriodicalId":48678,"journal":{"name":"Trends in Hearing","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11282555/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141761866","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}