The Impact of Different Background Noises: Effects on Cognitive Performance and Perceived Disturbance in Employees with Aided Hearing Impairment and Normal Hearing

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (09) ◽  
pp. 859-868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håkan Hua ◽  
Magnus Emilsson ◽  
Kim Kähäri ◽  
Stephen Widén ◽  
Claes Möller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

Background: Health care professionals frequently meet employees with hearing impairment (HI) who experience difficulties at work. There are indications that the majority of these difficulties might be related to the presence of background noise. Moreover, research has also shown that high-level noise has a more detrimental effect on cognitive performance and self-rated disturbance in individuals with HI than low-level noise. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of different types of background noise on cognitive performance and perceived disturbance (PD) in employees with aided HI and normal hearing. Research Design: A mixed factorial design was conducted to examine the effect of noise in four experimental conditions. Study Sample: A total of 40 participants (21 men and 19 women) were recruited to take part in the study. The study sample consisted of employees with HI (n = 20) and normal hearing (n = 20). The group with HI had a mild-moderate sensorineural HI, and they were all frequent hearing-aid users. Intervention: The current study was conducted by using four general work-related tasks (mental arithmetic, orthographic decoding, phonological decoding, and serial recall) in four different background conditions: (1) quiet, (2) office noise at 56 dBA, (3) daycare noise at 73.5 dBA, and (4) traffic noise at 72.5 dBA. Reaction time and the proportion of correct answers in the working tasks were used as outcome measures of cognitive performance. The Borg CR-10 scale was used to assess PD. Data Collection and Analysis: Data collection occurred on two separate sessions, completed within 4 wk of each other. All tasks and experimental conditions were used in a counterbalanced order. Two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures was performed to analyze the results. To examine interaction effects, pairwise t-tests were used. Pearson correlation coefficients between reaction time and proportion of correct answers, and cognitive performance and PD were also calculated to examine the possible correlation between the different variables. Results: No significant between-group or within-group differences in cognitive performance were observed across the four background conditions. Ratings of PD showed that both groups rated PD according to noise level, where higher noise level generated a higher PD. The present findings also demonstrated that the group with HI was more disturbed by higher than lower levels of noise (i.e., traffic and daycare setting compared with office setting). This pattern was observed consistently throughout four working tasks where the group with HI reported a significantly greater PD in the daycare and traffic settings compared with office noise. Conclusions: The present results demonstrate that background noise does not impair cognitive performance in nonauditory tasks in employees with HI and normal hearing, but that PD is affected to a greater extent in employees with HI during higher levels of background noise exposure. In addition, this study also supports previous studies regarding the detrimental effects that high-level noise has on employees with HI. Therefore, we emphasize the need of both self-rated and cognitive measurements in hearing care and occupational health services for both employees with normal hearing and HI.

Hearing Aid Amplification Reduces Communication Effort of People With Hearing Impairment and Their Conversation Partners

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1299-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Beechey ◽  
Jörg M. Buchholz ◽  
Gitte Keidser
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Referential Communication ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Directional Hearing ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Communication Task ◽  
Acoustic Environments ◽  
The Impact

Objectives This study investigates the hypothesis that hearing aid amplification reduces effort within conversation for both hearing aid wearers and their communication partners. Levels of effort, in the form of speech production modifications, required to maintain successful spoken communication in a range of acoustic environments are compared to earlier reported results measured in unaided conversation conditions. Design Fifteen young adult normal-hearing participants and 15 older adult hearing-impaired participants were tested in pairs. Each pair consisted of one young normal-hearing participant and one older hearing-impaired participant. Hearing-impaired participants received directional hearing aid amplification, according to their audiogram, via a master hearing aid with gain provided according to the NAL-NL2 fitting formula. Pairs of participants were required to take part in naturalistic conversations through the use of a referential communication task. Each pair took part in five conversations, each of 5-min duration. During each conversation, participants were exposed to one of five different realistic acoustic environments presented through highly open headphones. The ordering of acoustic environments across experimental blocks was pseudorandomized. Resulting recordings of conversational speech were analyzed to determine the magnitude of speech modifications, in terms of vocal level and spectrum, produced by normal-hearing talkers as a function of both acoustic environment and the degree of high-frequency average hearing impairment of their conversation partner. Results The magnitude of spectral modifications of speech produced by normal-hearing talkers during conversations with aided hearing-impaired interlocutors was smaller than the speech modifications observed during conversations between the same pairs of participants in the absence of hearing aid amplification. Conclusions The provision of hearing aid amplification reduces the effort required to maintain communication in adverse conditions. This reduction in effort provides benefit to hearing-impaired individuals and also to the conversation partners of hearing-impaired individuals. By considering the impact of amplification on both sides of dyadic conversations, this approach contributes to an increased understanding of the likely impact of hearing impairment on everyday communication.

scholarly journals Effects of Musically-Induced Emotions on Choice Reaction Time Performance

2009 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel T. Bishop ◽  
Costas I. Karageorghis ◽  
Noel P. Kinrade
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
White Noise ◽  
Choice Reaction Time ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Tennis Players ◽  
Time Performance ◽  
Reaction Time Performance ◽  
Subsequent Choice ◽  
The Impact

The main objective of the current study was to examine the impact of musically induced emotions on athletes’ subsequent choice reaction time (CRT) performance. A random sample of 54 tennis players listened to researcher-selected music whose tempo and intensity were modified to yield six different music excerpts (three tempi × two intensities) before completing a CRT task. Affective responses, heart rate (HR), and RTs for each condition were contrasted with white noise and silence conditions. As predicted, faster music tempi elicited more pleasant and aroused emotional states; and higher music intensity yielded both higher arousal (p < .001) and faster subsequent CRT performance (p < .001). White noise was judged significantly less pleasant than all experimental conditions (p < .001); and silence was significantly less arousing than all but one experimental condition (p < .001). The implications for athletes’ use of music as part of a preevent routine when preparing for reactive tasks are discussed.

Most Comfortable Listening Levels, Background Noise Levels, and Acceptable Noise Levels for Children and Adults with Normal Hearing

2011 ◽  
Vol 22 (05) ◽  
pp. 286-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Moore ◽  
Susan Gordon-Hickey ◽  
Alisha Jones
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Developmental Change ◽  
Pediatric Population ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Difference

Background: For adults the acceptable noise level (ANL) has been shown to be a strong predictor of hearing aid success. ANL is calculated as the difference between most comfortable listening level (MCL) and background noise level (BNL). No studies have made direct comparisons of these measures between adults and children. Purpose: To evaluate and compare MCLs, BNLs, and ANLs in children and young adults. Research Design: A cross-sectional design was used in this study. Two groups (children and adults) were tested for each dependent variable. MCLs and BNLs were measured for each participant, and ANLs were computed from these two measurements. Study Sample: The participants were 34 children (8–10 yr) and 34 young adults (19–29 yr) with normal hearing. Results: Significant main effects were found for MCLs and BNLs. There was no main effect for ANLs. MCLs and BNLs were significantly lower for the children than for the adults. Conclusions: These results suggest that while ANLs are unchanged from childhood to adulthood, there appears to be a developmental change in MCLs and BNLs. These findings have implications for the use of ANLs in the pediatric population.

scholarly journals Hearing loss is associated with delayed neural responses to continuous speech

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlies Gillis ◽  
Lien Decruy ◽  
Jonas Vanthornhout ◽  
Tom Francart
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Processing ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Continuous Speech ◽  
Processing Efficiency ◽  
Sound Amplification ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWe investigated the impact of hearing loss on the neural processing of speech. Using a forward modelling approach, we compared the neural responses to continuous speech of 14 adults with sensorineural hearing loss with those of age-matched normal-hearing peers.Compared to their normal-hearing peers, hearing-impaired listeners had increased neural tracking and delayed neural responses to continuous speech in quiet. The latency also increased with the degree of hearing loss. As speech understanding decreased, neural tracking decreased in both population; however, a significantly different trend was observed for the latency of the neural responses. For normal-hearing listeners, the latency increased with increasing background noise level. However, for hearing-impaired listeners, this increase was not observed.Our results support that the neural response latency indicates the efficiency of neural speech processing. Hearing-impaired listeners process speech in silence less efficiently then normal-hearing listeners. Our results suggest that this reduction in neural speech processing efficiency is a gradual effect which occurs as hearing deteriorates. Moreover, the efficiency of neural speech processing in hearing-impaired listeners is already at its lowest level when listening to speech in quiet, while normal-hearing listeners show a further decrease in efficiently when the noise level increases.From our results, it is apparent that sound amplification does not solve hearing loss. Even when intelligibility is apparently perfect, hearing-impaired listeners process speech less efficiently.

scholarly journals Identification of noise level and indication of its impact on residential barrier design in street edge

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
ARTEKS Jurnal Teknik Arsitektur ◽  
Frengky Benediktus Ola
Keyword(s):  
Human Body ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Building Design ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
The People ◽  
Local Roads ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

The effect of noises toward human body not only disturb the hearing organs, it can also disturb other human body parts and in some cases may results in reduction of work’s efficiency. This study aims to assess the noise level in residential areas on the edge of the city of Yogyakarta highway and to find any indication of the impact on building design and barriers by homeowners to reduce noise. This research is quantitative associative. Data obtained from measurements and field observations. The results showed that the noise level in residential areas on the edge of the highway, class II street and local roads in the city of Yogyakarta did not meet the standard values of LTNI and LNP. The design of buildings and barriers as a noise reduction factors for the highway was found with a percentage of 100% on the Jalan Bung Tarjo segment, 85.7% on the Jalan Ki Penjawi segment, 20.83% on the Jalan Juminahan segment, 52.08% on the Jalan Bausasran segment, 13.37% on the Jalan Suryodiningratan segment, and 10.7% on the Jalan Mangkuyudan segment. Therefore, the people of Yogyakarta are not fully aware of the high level of road noise.

scholarly journals HUKUM BERMAIN GAME ONLINE PLAYER UNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG) MENURUT FATWA MPU ACEH NOMOR 3 TAHUN 2019

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32
Author(s):  
Khairuddin; Khairuddin;
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Aggressive Behavior ◽  
Online Game ◽  
Surrounding Environment ◽  
The Law ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Collection Methods ◽  
Main Factor

This study is entitled The Law of Playing Unknown's Battle Grounds (PUBG) Game According to MPU Fatwa Aceh No. 3 of 2019 (Case Study in Gunung Meriah District, Aceh Singkil Regency). This study describes how the factors and the impact of PUBG online game play and what is the view of the MPU Aceh on the law of playing PUBG games ?. To obtain answers to these problems, the authors used three data collection methods; Observation, interview and documentation. The sample in this study was PUBG online gamers in Gunung Meriah Sub-district, Aceh Singkil District. The results of this study indicate that 25% of the community of Gunung Meriah Liking and categories are addicted to the PUBG game. The main factor of playing PUBG games. Playing hobbies online, including PUBG, can reduce boredom and stress. Games that continue to be carried out have unfavorable effects such as tend to be more lazy, addictions that are not fair, less response to the surrounding environment. In Islam, banning PUBG games is in line with the MPU Aceh fatwa no. 3 of 2019, the reason for it is forbidden to use this one game, because it contains elements of violence and brutality and the impact of changing the behavior of users becomes negative; because it has the potential to cause aggressive behavior and addiction at a high level; and contains elements of insult to Islamic symbols. because it contains elements of violence and brutality as well as negative changes in the behavior of users; because it has the potential to cause aggressive behavior and addiction at a high level; and contains elements of insult to Islamic symbols. because it contains elements of violence and brutality as well as negative changes in the behavior of users; because it has the potential to cause aggressive behavior and addiction at a high level; and contains elements of insult to Islamic symbols.

The Effect of Speech Presentation Level on Acceptance of Background Noise in Listeners with Normal Hearing

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (02) ◽  
pp. 141-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifford A. Franklin ◽  
James W. Thelin ◽  
Anna K. Nabelek ◽  
Samuel B. Burchfield
Keyword(s):  
Noise Level ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Presentation Level ◽  
Background Noise Level ◽  
Acceptable Noise Level ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Speech Presentation

A method has been established to measure the maximum acceptable background noise level (BNL) for a listener, while listening to speech at the most comfortable listening level (MCL). The acceptable noise level (ANL) is the difference between BNL and MCL. In the present study, the ANL procedure was used to measure acceptance of noise, first, in the presence of speech at MCL and, then, for speech presented at much lower and higher levels in listeners with normal hearing. This study used the term ANL to describe the results obtained at MCL and also at other speech presentation levels. The mean ANL at MCL was 15.5 dB, which is comparable to results obtained by previous investigators. ANL increases systematically with speech presentation level. Mean ANLs ranged from 10.6 dB when speech was presented at 20 dB HL to 24.6 dB when speech was presented at 76 dB HL. The results indicated that the acceptance of noise depends significantly on speech presentation level.

scholarly journals Impact of Transformational Leadership on Organizational Innovation: Telecommunication Sector of Pakistan

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 360
Author(s):  
Muhammad Yousaf Malik ◽  
Aon Waqas Awan
Keyword(s):  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Organizational Innovation ◽  
Descriptive Statistics ◽  
Telecommunication Sector ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Telecommunication Companies ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Way

This study aims at finding out how transformational leadership effects the organizational innovation in leading telecommunication companies of Pakistan. The study used a well-established questionnaire for data collection. The data was collected through convenient sampling from 120 mid-level and high-level managers of telecommunication organizations. The study not only relied on emphasis of descriptive statistics but regression was run to analyze the data. The results exhibit that transformational leadership has a constructive and substantial impact on organizational innovation in the deliberated context. This study is deemed to guide the Pakistan’s Telecommunication sector to improve the way management can yield more value from their employees. It also shows the impact of globally recognized knowledge can work in varying cultures and contexts.

scholarly journals Acceptable Noise Level Stability Over a One-Year Period of Time

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (05) ◽  
pp. 336-341
Author(s):  
Melinda F. Bryan ◽  
Susan Gordon-Hickey ◽  
Ashton L. Hay ◽  
Shelby T. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Noise Level ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Auditory Nervous System ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Acceptable Noise Level ◽  
Listening Levels ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Stability

Abstract Background The acceptable noise level (ANL) is a measure of willingness to listen to speech in the presence of background noise and is thought to be related to success with amplification. To date, ANLs have only been assessed over short periods of time, including within a session and over a 3-week and 3-month time period. ANL stability over longer periods of time has not been assessed. Purpose The purpose was to examine the stability of ANL over a 1-year time period. Research Design A repeated-measures, longitudinal study was completed. Study Sample Thirty young adults with normal hearing served as participants. The participants were tested at two different sites. Data Collection and Analysis Two trials of most comfortable listening levels (MCLs), background noise levels (BNLs), and ANLs were assessed for each participant during three experimental sessions: at 0 months, 6 months, and 1 year. Results Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variances revealed no significant change in MCLs, BNLs, or ANLs within a session or over a 1-year time period. These results indicate that ANLs remain stable for 1 year in listeners with normal hearing. Conclusions The finding that the ANL is stable over a longer period of time supports the theory that the ANL is an inherent trait of the listener and mediated at in the central auditory nervous system.

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