Ecological momentary assessments of real-world speech listening are associated with heart rate and acoustic condition

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) can provide insights into the real-world auditory ecology of hearing aid (HA) users. To better understand what factors, influence the real-world listening experiences of this population, more detailed models of human auditory ecology and behavior are needed. Laboratory studies suggest that physiological measures are sensitive to different listening experiences, as changes in physiological signals (e.g., pupil dilation) have been associated with effortful listening. In addition, real-world heart rate (HR) has been shown to be sensitive to acoustic influences (e.g., sound pressure level, SPL, and signal-to-noise ratio, SNR). Here, we hypothesized that including physiological and acoustic data in models predicting EMA ratings can provide additional insights into real-world listening outcome. To test this, we collected and analyzed longitudinal data from individuals with normal hearing.Fifteen normal-hearing adults completed smartphone-based EMAs regarding their listening experiences during a 2-week period. When completing the EMAs, they had to indicate their current listening intent. The participants received a single HA each that they fastened to their collars. The HAs were used to collect continuous SPL and SNR data in the participants' daily environments. Wristbands worn by the participants were used to collect continuous HR data.Linear mixed-effects models with SPL, SNR, and HR as fixed effects and participant as random intercept showed that higher SPL and lower SNR were associated with lower (poorer) EMA ratings. Including listening intent in the analyses revealed increased HR in “speech communication” and “focused listening” situations to be associated with better EMA ratings relative to situations without any specific listening intent.Our findings indicate that including in-situ HR and acoustic measurements can improve the prediction of real-world listening experiences. Further, they suggest that listening intent significantly impacts self-reported listening experiences and their association with physiological responses. Specifically, better listening experiences in speech communication situations are associated with higher HR.