Training with an auditory perceptual learning game transfers to speech in competition

E Sebastian Lelo De Larrea-Mancera,Aaron R Seitz,Frederick J Gallun,Michelle R Molis,Mark A Philipp,Sierra Cheung,Tess K Koerner,Trevor Stavropoulos,Audrey Anna Carrillo

doi:10.1007/s41465-021-00224-5

E Sebastian Lelo De Larrea-Mancera, Aaron R Seitz + Show 7 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-021-00224-5

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Abstract

Understanding speech in the presence of acoustical competition is a major complaint of those with hearing difficulties. Here, a novel perceptual learning game was tested for its effectiveness in reducing difficulties with hearing speech in competition. The game was designed to train a mixture of auditory processing skills thought to underlie speech in competition, such as spectral-temporal processing, sound localization, and auditory working memory. Training on these skills occurred both in quiet and in competition with noise. Thirty college-aged participants without any known hearing difficulties were assigned either to this mixed-training condition or an active control consisting of frequency discrimination training within the same gamified setting. To assess training effectiveness, tests of speech in competition (primary outcome), as well as basic supra-threshold auditory processing and cognitive processing abilities (secondary outcomes) were administered before and after training. Results suggest modest improvements on speech in competition tests in the mixed-training compared to the frequency-discrimination control condition (Cohen’s d = 0.68). While the sample is small, and in normally hearing individuals, these data suggest promise of future study in populations with hearing difficulties.

Highlights

Despite a vast amount of research conducted across multiple fields, clinicians and researchers still disagree about the best ways to confront the full diversity of hearing difficulties individuals face throughout their lives
Aids can restore at least partial audibility for some listeners, even in the presence of competing sounds (Humes et al, 2009), and are increasingly recommended for those with hearing complaints associated with central auditory processing (CAP) dysfunction (Koerner et al, 2020), there is little documented clinical evidence supporting the prescription of hearing aids for those with pure-tone detection thresholds in or near the normative range for young adults
In the case of Spatialized tasks, all participants made progress in terms of the offset from center where targets were presented from the highest magnitude of 60 to below 2.5 degrees

Summary

Introduction

Despite a vast amount of research conducted across multiple fields, clinicians and researchers still disagree about the best ways to confront the full diversity of hearing difficulties individuals face throughout their lives. Auditory rehabilitation has been focused on the ability to detect sounds—audibility. To this end, hearing loss due to elevation of auditory detection thresholds can often be addressed through the use of amplification technologies such as hearing aids (Chisolm et al, 2007). Conventional hearing aids may not provide the best solution for those with supra-threshold auditory processing difficulties, which often manifest as a reduced capacity to discriminate among competing sounds and hinders ones ability to separate auditory signals of interest from competing background noises: for example, individuals with supra-threshold auditory processing difficulties may struggle to understand one voice out of a group of many talkers even when sounds are audible (above hearing threshold). The more general case of this difficulty of hearing in multiple

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