Is there an influence of perceptual or cognitive impairment on complex sentence processing in hearing aid users?

Background: Hearing-impaired listeners often have difficulty understanding complex sentences. It is not clear if perceptual or cognitive deficits have more impact on reduced language processing abilities, and how a hearing aid might compensate for that.

Methods: In a prospective study with 5 hearing aid users and 5 normal hearing, age-matched participants, processing of complex sentences was investigated. Audiometric and working memory tests were performed. Subject- and object-initial sentences from the Oldenburg Corpus of Linguistically and audiologically controlled Sentences (OLACS) were presented to the participants during recording of an electroencephalogram (EEG).

Results: The perceptual difference between object and subject leading sentences does not lead to processing changes whereas the ambiguity in object leading sentences with feminine or neuter articles evokes a P600 potential. For hearing aid users, this P600 has a longer latency compared to normal hearing subjects.

Conclusion: The EEG is a suitable method for investigating differences in complex speech processing for hearing aid users. Longer P600 latencies indicate higher cognitive effort for processing complex sentences in hearing aid users.