1.
Ellis, Rachel, et al.
(författare)
Predicting Speech-in-Noise Recognition from Performance on the Trail Making Test: Results from a Large-Scale Internet Study
2016
Ingår i: Ear and Hearing. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0196-0202 .- 1538-4667. ; 37:1, s. 73-79
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the utility of an internet-based version of the trail making test (TMT) to predict performance on a speech-in-noise perception task.Design: Data were taken from a sample of 1509 listeners aged between 18 and 91 years old. Participants completed computerized versions of the TMT and an adaptive speech-in-noise recognition test. All testing was conducted via the internet.Results: The results indicate that better performance on both the simple and complex subtests of the TMT are associated with better speech-in-noise recognition scores. Thirty-eight percent of the participants had scores on the speech-in-noise test that indicated the presence of a hearing loss.Conclusions: The findings suggest that the TMT may be a useful tool in the assessment, and possibly the treatment, of speech-recognition difficulties. The results indicate that the relation between speech-in-noise recognition and TMT performance relates both to the capacity of the TMT to index processing speed and to the more complex cognitive abilities also implicated in TMT performance.
2.
3.
Micula, Andreea, et al.
(författare)
The effects of task difficulty, background noise and noise reduction on recall
2020
Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 59:10, s. 792-800
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Objective:In the present study, we investigated whether varying the task difficulty of the Sentence-Final Word Identification and Recall (SWIR) Test has an effect on the benefit of noise reduction, as well as whether task difficulty predictability affects recall. The relationship between working memory and recall was examined. Design:Task difficulty was manipulated by varying the list length with noise reduction on and off in competing speech and speech-shaped noise. Half of the participants were informed about list length in advance. Working memory capacity was measured using the Reading Span. Study sample:Thirty-two experienced hearing aid users with moderate sensorineural hearing loss. Results:Task difficulty did not affect the noise reduction benefit and task difficulty predictability did not affect recall. Participants may have employed a different recall strategy when task difficulty was unpredictable and noise reduction off. Reading Span scores positively correlated with the SWIR test. Noise reduction improved recall in competing speech. Conclusions:The SWIR test with varying list length is suitable for detecting the benefit of noise reduction. The correlation with working memory suggests that the SWIR test could be modified to be adaptive to individual cognitive capacity. The results on noise and noise reduction replicate previous findings.
4.
Micula, Andreea, et al.
(författare)
The Effects of Task Difficulty Predictability and Noise Reduction on Recall Performance and Pupil Dilation Responses
2021
Ingår i: Ear and Hearing. - : Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. - 0196-0202 .- 1538-4667. ; 42:6, s. 1668-1679
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Objectives: Communication requires cognitive processes which are not captured by traditional speech understanding tests. Under challenging listening situations, more working memory resources are needed to process speech, leaving fewer resources available for storage. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of task difficulty predictability, that is, knowing versus not knowing task difficulty in advance, and the effect of noise reduction on working memory resource allocation to processing and storage of speech heard in background noise. For this purpose, an "offline" behavioral measure, the Sentence-Final Word Identification and Recall (SWIR) test, and an "online" physiological measure, pupillometry, were combined. Moreover, the outcomes of the two measures were compared to investigate whether they reflect the same processes related to resource allocation. Design: Twenty-four experienced hearing aid users with moderate to moderately severe hearing loss participated in this study. The SWIR test and pupillometry were measured simultaneously with noise reduction in the test hearing aids activated and deactivated in a background noise composed of four-talker babble. The task of the SWIR test is to listen to lists of sentences, repeat the last word immediately after each sentence and recall the repeated words when the list is finished. The sentence baseline dilation, which is defined as the mean pupil dilation before each sentence, and task-evoked peak pupil dilation (PPD) were analyzed over the course of the lists. The task difficulty predictability was manipulated by including lists of three, five, and seven sentences. The test was conducted over two sessions, one during which the participants were informed about list length before each list (predictable task difficulty) and one during which they were not (unpredictable task difficulty). Results: The sentence baseline dilation was higher when task difficulty was unpredictable compared to predictable, except at the start of the list, where there was no difference. The PPD tended to be higher at the beginning of the list, this pattern being more prominent when task difficulty was unpredictable. Recall performance was better and sentence baseline dilation was higher when noise reduction was on, especially toward the end of longer lists. There was no effect of noise reduction on PPD. Conclusions: Task difficulty predictability did not have an effect on resource allocation, since recall performance was similar independently of whether task difficulty was predictable or unpredictable. The higher sentence baseline dilation when task difficulty was unpredictable likely reflected a difference in the recall strategy or higher degree of task engagement/alertness or arousal. Hence, pupillometry captured processes which the SWIR test does not capture. Noise reduction frees up resources to be used for storage of speech, which was reflected in the better recall performance and larger sentence baseline dilation toward the end of the list when noise reduction was on. Thus, both measures captured different temporal aspects of the same processes related to resource allocation with noise reduction on and off.
5.
Moradi, Shahram, et al.
(författare)
Perceptual Doping: An Audiovisual Facilitation Effect on Auditory Speech Processing, From Phonetic Feature Extraction to Sentence Identification in Noise
2019
Ingår i: Ear and Hearing. - : LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS. - 0196-0202 .- 1538-4667. ; 40:2, s. 312-327
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Objective: We have previously shown that the gain provided by prior audiovisual ( AV) speech exposure for subsequent auditory ( A) sentence identification in noise is relatively larger than that provided by prior A speech exposure. We have called this effect "perceptual doping." Specifically, prior AV speech processing dopes ( recalibrates) the phonological and lexical maps in the mental lexicon, which facilitates subsequent phonological and lexical access in the A modality, separately from other learning and priming effects. In this article, we use data from the n200 study and aim to replicate and extend the perceptual doping effect using two different A and two different AV speech tasks and a larger sample than in our previous studies. Design: The participants were 200 hearing aid users with bilateral, symmetrical, mild- to- severe sensorineural hearing loss. There were four speech tasks in the n200 study that were presented in both A and AV modalities (gated consonants, gated vowels, vowel duration discrimination, and sentence identification in noise tasks). The modality order of speech presentation was counterbalanced across participants: half of the participants completed the A modality first and the AV modality second (A1- AV2), and the other half completed the AV modality and then the A modality (AV1- A2). Based on the perceptual doping hypothesis, which assumes that the gain of prior AV exposure will be relatively larger relative to that of prior A exposure for subsequent processing of speech stimuli, we predicted that the mean A scores in the AV1- A2 modality order would be better than the mean A scores in the A1- AV2 modality order. We therefore expected a significant difference in terms of the identification of A speech stimuli between the two modality orders (A1 versus A2). As prior A exposure provides a smaller gain than AV exposure, we also predicted that the difference in AV speech scores between the two modality orders (AV1 versus AV2) may not be statistically significantly different. Results: In the gated consonant and vowel tasks and the vowel duration discrimination task, there were significant differences in A performance of speech stimuli between the two modality orders. The participants mean A performance was better in the AV1- A2 than in the A1- AV2 modality order (i.e., after AV processing). In terms of mean AV performance, no significant difference was observed between the two orders. In the sentence identification in noise task, a significant difference in the A identification of speech stimuli between the two orders was observed (A1 versus A2). In addition, a significant difference in the AV identification of speech stimuli between the two orders was also observed (AV1 versus AV2). This finding was most likely because of a procedural learning effect due to the greater complexity of the sentence materials or a combination of procedural learning and perceptual learning due to the presentation of sentential materials in noisy conditions. Conclusions: The findings of the present study support the perceptual doping hypothesis, as prior AV relative to A speech exposure resulted in a larger gain for the subsequent processing of speech stimuli. For complex speech stimuli that were presented in degraded listening conditions, a procedural learning effect (or a combination of procedural learning and perceptual learning effects) also facilitated the identification of speech stimuli, irrespective of whether the prior modality was A or AV.
6.
Moradi, Shahram, et al.
(författare)
The Efficacy of Short-term Gated Audiovisual Speech Training for Improving Auditory Sentence Identification in Noise in Elderly Hearing Aid Users
2017
Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : FRONTIERS MEDIA SA. - 1664-1078. ; 8
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
This study aimed to examine the efficacy and maintenance of short-term (one-session) gated audiovisual speech training for improving auditory sentence identification in noise in experienced elderly hearing-aid users. Twenty-five hearing aid users (16 men and 9 women), with an average age of 70.8 years, were randomly divided into an experimental (audiovisual training, n = 14) and a control (auditory training, n = 11) group. Participants underwent gated speech identification tasks comprising Swedish consonants and words presented at 65 dB sound pressure level with a 0 dB signal-to-noise ratio (steady-state broadband noise), in audiovisual or auditory-only training conditions. The Hearing-in-Noise Test was employed to measure participants auditory sentence identification in noise before the training (pre-test), promptly after training (post-test), and 1 month after training (one-month follow-up). The results showed that audiovisual training improved auditory sentence identification in noise promptly after the training (post-test vs. pre-test scores); furthermore, this improvement was maintained 1 month after the training (one-month follow-up vs. pre-test scores). Such improvement was not observed in the control group, neither promptly after the training nor at the one-month follow-up. However, no significant between-groups difference nor an interaction between groups and session was observed. Conclusion: Audiovisual training may be considered in aural rehabilitation of hearing aid users to improve listening capabilities in noisy conditions. However, the lack of a significant between-groups effect (audiovisual vs. auditory) or an interaction between group and session calls for further research.
7.
Ng, Hoi Ning, Elaine, 1979-, et al.
(författare)
Hearing aid experience and background noise affect the robust relationship between working memory and speech recognition in noise
2020
Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 59:3, s. 208-218
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to examine how background noise and hearing aid experience affect the robust relationship between working memory and speech recognition.Design: Matrix sentences were used to measure speech recognition in noise. Three measures of working memory were administered. Study sample: 148 participants with at least 2 years of hearing aid experience.Results: A stronger overall correlation between working memory and speech recognition performance was found in a four-talker babble than in a stationary noise background. This correlation was significantly weaker in participants with most hearing aid experience than those with least experience when background noise was stationary. In the four-talker babble, however, no significant difference was found between the strength of correlations between users with different experience.Conclusion: In general, more explicit processing of working memory is invoked when listening in a multi-talker babble. The matching processes (cf. Ease of Language Understanding model, ELU) were more efficient for experienced than for less experienced users when perceiving speech. This study extends the existing ELU model that mismatch may also lead to the establishment of new phonological representations in the long-term memory.
8.
Rönnberg, Jerker, et al.
(författare)
Cognitive hearing science and ease of language understanding
2019
Ingår i: International Journal of Audiology. - : TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD. - 1499-2027 .- 1708-8186. ; 58:5, s. 247-261
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat) abstract
Objective: The current update of the Ease of Language Understanding (ELU) model evaluates the predictive and postdictive aspects of speech understanding and communication.Design: The aspects scrutinised concern: (1) Signal distortion and working memory capacity (WMC), (2) WMC and early attention mechanisms, (3) WMC and use of phonological and semantic information, (4) hearing loss, WMC and long-term memory (LTM), (5) WMC and effort, and (6) the ELU model and sign language.Study Samples: Relevant literature based on own or others data was used.Results: Expectations 1-4 are supported whereas 5-6 are constrained by conceptual issues and empirical data. Further strands of research were addressed, focussing on WMC and contextual use, and on WMC deployment in relation to hearing status. A wider discussion of task demands, concerning, for example, inference-making and priming, is also introduced and related to the overarching ELU functions of prediction and postdiction. Finally, some new concepts and models that have been inspired by the ELU-framework are presented and discussed.Conclusions: The ELU model has been productive in generating empirical predictions/expectations, the majority of which have been confirmed. Nevertheless, new insights and boundary conditions need to be experimentally tested to further shape the model.
9.
Zekveld, Adriana, 1981-, et al.
(författare)
In a Concurrent Memory and Auditory Perception Task, the Pupil Dilation Response Is More Sensitive to Memory Load Than to Auditory Stimulus Characteristics
2019
Ingår i: Ear and Hearing. - : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. - 0196-0202 .- 1538-4667. ; 40:2, s. 272-286
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat) abstract
Objectives: Speech understanding may be cognitively demanding, but it can be enhanced when semantically related text cues precede auditory sentences. The present study aimed to determine whether (a) providing text cues reduces pupil dilation, a measure of cognitive load, during listening to sentences, (b) repeating the sentences aloud affects recall accuracy and pupil dilation during recall of cue words, and (c) semantic relatedness between cues and sentences affects recall accuracy and pupil dilation during recall of cue words.Design: Sentence repetition following text cues and recall of the text cues were tested. Twenty-six participants (mean age, 22 years) with normal hearing listened to masked sentences. On each trial, a set of four-word cues was presented visually as text preceding the auditory presentation of a sentence whose meaning was either related or unrelated to the cues. On each trial, participants first read the cue words, then listened to a sentence. Following this they spoke aloud either the cue words or the sentence, according to instruction, and finally on all trials orally recalled the cues. Peak pupil dilation was measured throughout listening and recall on each trial. Additionally, participants completed a test measuring the ability to perceive degraded verbal text information and three working memory tests (a reading span test, a size-comparison span test, and a test of memory updating).Results: Cue words that were semantically related to the sentence facilitated sentence repetition but did not reduce pupil dilation. Recall was poorer and there were more intrusion errors when the cue words were related to the sentences. Recall was also poorer when sentences were repeated aloud. Both behavioral effects were associated with greater pupil dilation. Larger reading span capacity and smaller size-comparison span were associated with larger peak pupil dilation during listening. Furthermore, larger reading span and greater memory updating ability were both associated with better cue recall overall.Conclusions: Although sentence-related word cues facilitate sentence repetition, our results indicate that they do not reduce cognitive load during listening in noise with a concurrent memory load. As expected, higher working memory capacity was associated with better recall of the cues. Unexpectedly, however, semantic relatedness with the sentence reduced word cue recall accuracy and increased intrusion errors, suggesting an effect of semantic confusion. Further, speaking the sentence aloud also reduced word cue recall accuracy, probably due to articulatory suppression. Importantly, imposing a memory load during listening to sentences resulted in the absence of formerly established strong effects of speech intelligibility on the pupil dilation response. This nullified intelligibility effect demonstrates that the pupil dilation response to a cognitive (memory) task can completely overshadow the effect of perceptual factors on the pupil dilation response. This highlights the importance of taking cognitive task load into account during auditory testing.
