AI Article Synopsis
- Adults with cochlear implants (CIs) struggle to hear in noisy environments, but personalized auditory training (AT) may help improve their skills.
- This study evaluated whether serious games could enhance speech-in-noise understanding for CI users over a 5-week program, involving 30 participants with profound hearing loss.
- Results showed a significant improvement in speech-in-noise intelligibility for those who completed the gaming-based AT, suggesting that this method could effectively support CI rehabilitation.
Article Abstract
Listening in noise remains challenging for adults with cochlear implants (CI) even after prolonged experience. Personalized auditory training (AT) programs can be proposed to improve specific auditory skills in adults with CI. The objective of this study was to assess serious gaming as a rehabilitation tool to improve speech-in-noise intelligibility in adult CI users. Thirty subjects with bilateral profound hearing loss and at least 9 months of CI experience were randomized to participate in a 5-week serious game-based AT program (n = 15) or a control group (n = 15). All participants were tested at enrolment and at 5 weeks using the sentence recognition-in-noise matrix test to measure the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) allowing 70% of speech-in-noise understanding (70% speech reception threshold, SRT70). Thirteen subjects completed the AT program and nine of them were re-tested 5 weeks later. The mean SRT70 improved from 15.5 dB to 11.5 dB SNR after 5 weeks of AT (p < 0.001). No significant change in SRT70 was observed in the control group. In the study group, the magnitude of SRT70 improvement was not correlated to the total number of AT hours. A large inter-patient variability was observed for speech-in-noise intelligibility measured once the AT program was completed and at re-test. The results suggest that serious game-based AT may improve speech-in-noise intelligibility in adult CI users. Potential sources of inter-patient variability are discussed. Serious gaming may be considered as a complementary training approach for improving CI outcomes in adults.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9145632 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/jcm11102880 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Sensory representations and pupil-indexed listening effort provide complementary contributions to multi-talker speech intelligibility.
Sci Rep
December 2024
Department of Communication Science and Disorders, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA.
Multi-talker speech intelligibility requires successful separation of the target speech from background speech. Successful speech segregation relies on bottom-up neural coding fidelity of sensory information and top-down effortful listening. Here, we studied the interaction between temporal processing measured using Envelope Following Responses (EFRs) to amplitude modulated tones, and pupil-indexed listening effort, as it related to performance on the Quick Speech-in-Noise (QuickSIN) test in normal-hearing adults.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHow Does Deep Neural Network-Based Noise Reduction in Hearing Aids Impact Cochlear Implant Candidacy?
Audiol Res
December 2024
Division of Audiology, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55902, USA.
Background/objectives: Adult hearing-impaired patients qualifying for cochlear implants typically exhibit less than 60% sentence recognition under the best hearing aid conditions, either in quiet or noisy environments, with speech and noise presented through a single speaker. This study examines the influence of deep neural network-based (DNN-based) noise reduction on cochlear implant evaluation.
Methods: Speech perception was assessed using AzBio sentences in both quiet and noisy conditions (multi-talker babble) at 5 and 10 dB signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) through one loudspeaker.
Measuring Speech Intelligibility with Romanian Synthetic Unpredictable Sentences in Normal Hearing.
Audiol Res
December 2024
Doctoral School, Grigore T Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 700115 Iasi, Romania.
Background/objectives: Understanding speech in background noise is a challenging task for listeners with normal hearing and even more so for individuals with hearing impairments. The primary objective of this study was to develop Romanian speech material in noise to assess speech perception in diverse auditory populations, including individuals with normal hearing and those with various types of hearing loss. The goal was to create a versatile tool that can be used in different configurations and expanded for future studies examining auditory performance across various populations and rehabilitation methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpeech in noise listening correlates identified in resting state and DTI MRI images.
Brain Lang
January 2025
Dept. of Speech-Language Pathology, SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo, NY, USA.
This study presents an examination of the neural connectivity associated with processing speech in noisy environments, an ability that declines with age. We correlated subjects' speech-in-noise (SIN) ability with resting-state MRI scans and Fractional Anisotropy (FA) values from the auditory section of the corpus callosum, both with and without correcting for age. The results revealed that subjects who performed poorly on the right ear SIN test (QuickSIN, MedRx) had higher correlations between the primary auditory cortex and regions of the brain that process language.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn ideal compressed mask for increasing speech intelligibility without sacrificing environmental sound recognitiona).
J Acoust Soc Am
December 2024
Department of Speech and Hearing Science, and Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
Hearing impairment is often characterized by poor speech-in-noise recognition. State-of-the-art laboratory-based noise-reduction technology can eliminate background sounds from a corrupted speech signal and improve intelligibility, but it can also hinder environmental sound recognition (ESR), which is essential for personal independence and safety. This paper presents a time-frequency mask, the ideal compressed mask (ICM), that aims to provide listeners with improved speech intelligibility without substantially reducing ESR.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!