Hearing Speech In Noise Research Articles

Musical experience impacts hearing speech in noise.

Musical experience profoundly impacts how sound is transcribed by the nervous system. This influence is likely mediated by cognitive processes such as attention and memory through the corticofugal system [Tzounopoulos and Kraus, Neuron 62, 463–469 (2009)]. Hearing in noise is difficult for everyone but especially for children with developmental dyslexia and older adults. We have identified objective neural signatures—from the human auditory brainstem—that reflect hearing in noise [Chandrasekaran et al., Neuron 64, 311–319 (2009) and Hornickel et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 31, 13027 (2009)]. Musicians develop the ability to hear relevant signals embedded in a network of melodies and harmonies. This ability transfers to hearing a target speaker’s voice in background noise. We are beginning to understand the biological basis for this perceptual advantage [Parbery‐Clark et al., J. Neurosci 29, 14100–14107 (2009)]. Sensory processing of speech and music is tightly coupled with the cognitive abilities that underlie language and musical expertise; this knowledge can be used to advantage in the consideration of educational and remediation strategies. [Work supported by NSF SGER 0842376.]

Context-Dependent Encoding in the Human Auditory Brainstem Relates to Hearing Speech in Noise: Implications for Developmental Dyslexia

We examined context-dependent encoding of speech in children with and without developmental dyslexia by measuring auditory brainstem responses to a speech syllable presented in a repetitive or variable context. Typically developing children showed enhanced brainstem representation of features related to voice pitch in the repetitive context, relative to the variable context. In contrast, children with developmental dyslexia exhibited impairment in their ability to modify representation in predictable contexts. From a functional perspective, we found that the extent of context-dependent encoding in the auditory brainstem correlated positively with behavioral indices of speech perception in noise. The ability to sharpen representation of repeating elements is crucial to speech perception in noise, since it allows superior "tagging" of voice pitch, an important cue for segregating sound streams in background noise. The disruption of this mechanism contributes to a critical deficit in noise-exclusion, a hallmark symptom in developmental dyslexia.

Help-seeking for medically unexplained hearing difficulties: A qualitative study

Aims Up to 10% of audiology patients report diffi culties hearing speech in noise even though clinical investigation reveals normal hearing thresholds, in other words, no evidence of physical pathology. The diagnostic category applied to these patients is known as King-Kopetzky Syndrome (KKS). This study aimed to gather descriptions of patients' experiences of the clinical encounter involving their KKS diagnosis and analyse the themes of help-seeking, as part of a larger study into the process of coping with medically unexplained hearing diffi culties. Method A qualitative approach was employed, comprising unstructured interviews in the homes of 25 patients who had attended audiology services (and received a diagnosis of KKS) in Bath and Cardiff. Thematic analysis of transcripts was undertaken, infl uenced by grounded theory techniques. Findings Informants characterized the clinical encounter as either negative or positive. Negative consultations were those in which patients' illness claims were dismissed and as such not validated. Positive encounters were typifi ed by the provision of meaningful information that reconciled clinical information with the patients' experiences of hearing loss. Conclusion Successful management of medically unexplained illnesses requires the adoption of a patient-centred approach, rather than focusing on the absence of observable pathology

Sequential bilateral cochlear implantation in children

Binaural hearing offers several advantages over monaural hearing including improved speech understanding in the presence of background noise and the ability to localize the source of sounds. Patients who have undergone unilateral cochlear implantation perform poorly at these binaural tasks despite their improved hearing capabilities. Bilateral cochlear implants have restored these abilities in many adult patients. This study is designed to evaluate the degree to which similar benefits are realized by children who receive a second cochlear implant after successful experience with a first device. Twenty-five children aged 3–13 years underwent sequential bilateral cochlear implantation followed by a series of age appropriate speech reception tasks administered in quiet and in background noise. Some also underwent sound localization testing. The children demonstrated improved speech understanding in quiet and in noise using two cochlear implants when compared with either implant alone. Sound localization ability was poor in all subjects even after 9 months of bilateral implant use. We conclude that bilateral cochlear implantation offers potential benefits to children, especially with regard to hearing speech in noise.

Population study of the ability to benefit from amplification and the provision of a hearing aid in 55–74-year-old first-time hearing aid users

About 40% of 55–74-year-olds have an impairment in at least one ear of 25+ dB HL, and 27% have bilateral impairment at this level, with 11% being impaired bilaterally at 35+ dB HL. Only 6% currently use a hearing aid. The performance of a random sample of participants aged 55–74 years on speech-in-noise tasks shows that significant statistical benefit was obtained from bilateral amplification in over 20% of the population who do not currently use a hearing aid. The offer of a hearing aid to all those who exceeded a 25 dB HL criterion in the worse car was accepted and taken up by 40%. with 16% declining and the remainder being excluded for pathological and logistic reasons (e.g. hearing loss profile not suitable for aid). This is a very high rate of 71% acceptance. One in four fitted with the hearing aid showed a statistical advantage for hearing speech in noise in freefield (noise and speech from in front) with the hearing aid. Thus at least 10% of the population who do not currently use an aid would benefit substantially from a hearing aid in a quiet speech-in-noise environment. Those with poorer cognitive function show greater benefit overall and less disadvantage in very bad signal-to-noise environments. The overall pattern of results support screening and providing hearing aids to those who do not currently have an aid(s), and suggests that there would be considerable population benefit. At least two main questions for further research remain: (1) would bilateral aiding strategies give greater benefit; and (2) would different hearing aids and fitting strategies be more appropriate for people with differing ‘cognitive task’ loadings on phonological memory and lexical decision factors?