Auditory Training to Improve Speech Perception and Self-Efficacy in Aging Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1270-1281
Author(s):  
Leah Fostick ◽  
Riki Taitelbaum-Swead ◽  
Shulamith Kreitler ◽  
Shelly Zokraut ◽  
Miriam Billig

Purpose Difficulty in understanding spoken speech is a common complaint among aging adults, even when hearing impairment is absent. Correlational studies point to a relationship between age, auditory temporal processing (ATP), and speech perception but cannot demonstrate causality unlike training studies. In the current study, we test (a) the causal relationship between a spatial–temporal ATP task (temporal order judgment [TOJ]) and speech perception among aging adults using a training design and (b) whether improvement in aging adult speech perception is accompanied by improved self-efficacy. Method Eighty-two participants aged 60–83 years were randomly assigned to a group receiving (a) ATP training (TOJ) over 14 days, (b) non-ATP training (intensity discrimination) over 14 days, or (c) no training. Results The data showed that TOJ training elicited improvement in all speech perception tests, which was accompanied by increased self-efficacy. Neither improvement in speech perception nor self-efficacy was evident following non-ATP training or no training. Conclusions There was no generalization of the improvement resulting from TOJ training to intensity discrimination or generalization of improvement resulting from intensity discrimination training to speech perception. These findings imply that the effect of TOJ training on speech perception is specific and such improvement is not simply the product of generally improved auditory perception. It provides support for the idea that temporal properties of speech are indeed crucial for speech perception. Clinically, the findings suggest that aging adults can be trained to improve their speech perception, specifically through computer-based auditory training, and this may improve perceived self-efficacy.

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 1078-1088 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Fostick ◽  
Harvey Babkoff ◽  
Gil Zukerman

Purpose To test the effects of 24 hr of sleep deprivation on auditory and linguistic perception and to assess the magnitude of this effect by comparing such performance with that of aging adults on speech perception and with that of dyslexic readers on phonological awareness. Method Fifty-five sleep-deprived young adults were compared with 29 aging adults (older than 60 years) and with 18 young controls on auditory temporal order judgment (TOJ) and on speech perception tasks (Experiment 1). The sleep deprived were also compared with 51 dyslexic readers and with the young controls on TOJ and phonological awareness tasks (One-Minute Test for Pseudowords, Phoneme Deletion, Pig Latin, and Spoonerism; Experiment 2). Results Sleep deprivation resulted in longer TOJ thresholds, poorer speech perception, and poorer nonword reading compared with controls. The TOJ thresholds of the sleep deprived were comparable to those of the aging adults, but their pattern of speech performance differed. They also performed better on TOJ and phonological awareness than dyslexic readers. Conclusions A variety of linguistic skills are affected by sleep deprivation. The comparison of sleep-deprived individuals with other groups with known difficulties in these linguistic skills might suggest that different groups exhibit common difficulties.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 233121652110259
Author(s):  
Mariana Reis ◽  
Catherine M. McMahon ◽  
Dayse Távora-Vieira ◽  
Peter Humburg ◽  
Isabelle Boisvert

The aim of this study was to assess whether a computer-based speech-in-noise auditory training (AT) program would lead to short- and long-term changes in trained and untrained measures of listening, cognition, and quality of life. A secondary aim was to assess whether directly training the underlying cognitive abilities required for speech perception in noise, using a computer-based visual training (VT) program without the auditory component, would elicit comparable outcomes as the AT program. A randomized crossover study with repeated measures was conducted with 26 adult cochlear implant users. Participants completed either 6 weeks of speech perception in noise training followed by 6 weeks of masked text recognition training, or vice versa. Outcome measures were administered twice before each training program, as well as twice after the completion of each program. The test battery was designed to evaluate whether training led to improvements in listening abilities, cognitive abilities, or quality of life. Mixed-effects models were conducted to analyze whether changes occurred on the trained tasks and on untrained outcome measures after training. Statistically significant improvements were shown for verbal recognition performance during both training programs, in particular for consonants in words, and during the first 2 weeks of training. This on-task learning, however, did not lead to clear improvements in outcomes measured beyond the training programs. This suggests that experienced cochlear implant users may not show transfer of on-task learning to untrained tasks after computer-based auditory and visual training programs such as the ones used in this study.


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 91-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Pizarek ◽  
Valeriy Shafiro ◽  
Patricia McCarthy

Computerized auditory training (CAT) is a convenient, low-cost approach to improving communication of individuals with hearing loss or other communicative disorders. A number of CAT programs are being marketed to patients and audiologists. The present literature review is an examination of evidence for the effectiveness of CAT in improving speech perception in adults with hearing impairments. Six current CAT programs, used in 9 published studies, were reviewed. In all 9 studies, some benefit of CAT for speech perception was demonstrated. Although these results are encouraging, the overall quality of available evidence remains low, and many programs currently on the market have not yet been evaluated. Thus, caution is needed when selecting CAT programs for specific patients. It is hoped that future researchers will (a) examine a greater number of CAT programs using more rigorous experimental designs, (b) determine which program features and training regimens are most effective, and (c) indicate which patients may benefit from CAT the most.


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Younes Lotfi ◽  
Mahdieh Hasanalifard ◽  
Abdollah Moossavi ◽  
Enayatollah Bakhshi ◽  
Mohammad Ajalloueyan

Abstract Background The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of “Spatially separated speech in noise” auditory training on the ability of speech perception in noise among bimodal fitting users. The assumption was that the rehabilitation can enhance spatial hearing and hence speech in noise perception. This study was an interventional study, with a pre/post-design. Speech recognition ability was assessed with the specific tests. After performing the rehabilitation stages in the intervention group, the speech tests were again implemented, and by comparing the pre- and post-intervention data, the effect of auditory training on the speech abilities was assessed. Twenty-four children of 8–12 years who had undergone cochlear implantation and continuously used bimodal fitting were investigated in two groups of control and intervention. Results The results showed a significant difference between the groups in different speech tests after the intervention, which indicated that the intervention group have improved more than the control group. Conclusion It can be concluded that “Spatially separated speech in noise” auditory training can improve the speech perception in noise in bimodal fitting users. In general, this rehabilitation method is useful for enhancing the speech in noise perception ability.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nehzat Koohi ◽  
Gilbert Thomas-Black ◽  
Paola Giunti ◽  
Doris-Eva Bamiou

AbstractAuditory neural impairment is a key clinical feature of Friedreich’s Ataxia (FRDA). We aimed to characterize the phenotypical spectrum of the auditory impairment in FRDA in order to facilitate early identification and timely management of auditory impairment in FRDA patients and to explore the relationship between the severity of auditory impairment with genetic variables (the expansion size of GAA trinucleotide repeats, GAA1 and GAA2), when controlled for variables such as disease duration, severity of the disease and cognitive status. Twenty-seven patients with genetically confirmed FRDA underwent baseline audiological assessment (pure-tone audiometry, otoacoustic emissions, auditory brainstem response). Twenty of these patients had additional psychophysical auditory processing evaluation including an auditory temporal processing test (gaps in noise test) and a binaural speech perception test that assesses spatial processing (Listening in Spatialized Noise-Sentences Test). Auditory spatial and auditory temporal processing ability were significantly associated with the repeat length of GAA1. Patients with GAA1 greater than 500 repeats had more severe auditory temporal and spatial processing deficits, leading to poorer speech perception. Furthermore, the spatial processing ability was strongly correlated with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate an association between genotype and auditory spatial processing phenotype in patients with FRDA. Auditory temporal processing, neural sound conduction, spatial processing and speech perception were more severely affected in patients with GAA1 greater than 500 repeats. The results of our study may indicate that auditory deprivation plays a role in the development of mild cognitive impairment in FRDA patients.


2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 191-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Fostick ◽  
Harvey Babkoff

Abstract Background: The present study examined whether the reported age-related decline in auditory temporal resolution is specific to the temporal domain or rather reflects a general decline in auditory perception, including the stimulus intensity domain. Methods: The performance of 89 healthy participants aged between 21 and 82 years with normal hearing was tested on a variety of psychophysical tasks, where discrimination was based either on the temporal or on the intensity domains. Stimulus levels for all tasks were 40 dB SL (corrected for threshold). Participants were also tested on two cognitive tasks: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Third Edition, matrices and digit span. Results: Findings indicate that age was significantly negatively correlated with performance on three of the temporal resolution tasks, namely, dichotic temporal-order judgment, spectral temporal-order judgment, and gap detection, but not on the intensity discrimination task, thus emphasizing the specificity of the age-related decline to the auditory temporal domain. Conclusions: The overall results suggest that age-related changes in auditory perception are specific to the temporal domain, even when controlling for hearing sensitivity and cognitive ability, and are not reflected in other aspects of non-temporal perception, such as intensity discrimination.


2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (3S) ◽  
pp. 308-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dania Rishiq ◽  
Aparna Rao ◽  
Tess Koerner ◽  
Harvey Abrams

Purpose The goal of this study was to determine whether hearing aids in combination with computer-based auditory training improve audiovisual (AV) performance compared with the use of hearing aids alone. Method Twenty-four participants were randomized into an experimental group (hearing aids plus ReadMyQuips [RMQ] training) and a control group (hearing aids only). The Multimodal Lexical Sentence Test for Adults (Kirk et al., 2012) was used to measure auditory-only (AO) and AV speech perception performance at three signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). Participants were tested at the time of hearing aid fitting (pretest), after 4 weeks of hearing aid use (posttest I), and again after 4 weeks of RMQ training (posttest II). Results Results did not reveal an effect of training. As expected, interactions were found between (a) modality (AO vs. AV) and SNR and (b) test (pretest vs. posttests) and SNR. Conclusion Data do not show a significant effect of RMQ training on AO or AV performance as measured using the Multimodal Lexical Sentence Test for Adults.


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