Effect of Vowel Auditory Training on the Speech-In-Noise Perception among Older Adults with Normal Hearing

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Abstract

Introduction:

Aging reduces the ability to understand speech in noise. Hearing rehabilitation is one of the ways to help older people communicate effectively. This study aimed to investigate the effect of vowel auditory training on the improvement of speech-in-noise (SIN) perception among elderly listeners.

Materials and Methods:

This study was conducted on 36 elderly listeners (17 males and 15 females) with the mean±SD of 67.6±6.33. They had the normal peripheral auditory ability but had difficulties in SIN perception. The samples were randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. The intervention group underwent vowel auditory training; however, the control group received no training.

Results:

After vowel auditory training, the intervention group showed significant changes in the results of the SIN test at two signal-to-noise ratios of 0 and -10 and the Iranian version of the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale, compared to the control group (P<0.001). Regarding the Speech Auditory Brainstem Response test, the F ₀ magnitude was higher in the intervention group (8.42±2.26), compared to the control group (6.68±1.87) (P<0.011).

Conclusion:

This study investigated the effect of vowel auditory training on the improvement of SIN perception which could be probably due to better F ₀ encoding and receiving. This ability enhancement resulted in the easier perception of speech and its more proper separation from background noise which in turn enhanced the ability of the old people to follow the speech of a specific person and track the discussion.

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Most cited references 33

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Brainstem responses to speech syllables.

Nicole L. Russo, Trent Nicol, Gabriella Musacchia … (2004)

To establish reliable procedures and normative values to quantify brainstem encoding of speech sounds. Auditory brainstem responses to speech syllables presented in quiet and in background noise were obtained from 38 normal children. Brainstem responses consist of transient and sustained, periodic components-much like the speech signal itself. Transient peak responses were analyzed with measures of latency, amplitude, area, and slope. Magnitude of sustained, periodic frequency-following responses was assessed with root mean square, fundamental frequency, and first formant amplitudes; timing was assessed by stimulus-to-response and quiet-to-noise inter-response correlations. Measures of transient and sustained components of the brainstem response to speech syllables were reliably obtained with high test-retest stability and low variability across subjects. All components of the brainstem response were robust in quiet. Background noise disrupted the transient responses whereas the sustained response was more resistant to the deleterious effects of noise. The speech-evoked brainstem response faithfully reflects many acoustic properties of the speech signal. Procedures to quantitatively describe it have been developed. Accurate and precise manifestation of stimulus timing at the auditory brainstem is a hallmark of the normal perceptual system. The brainstem response to speech sounds provides a mechanism for understanding the neural bases of normal and deficient attention-independent auditory function.

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Auditory training improves neural timing in the human brainstem.

Kenneth Hayes, Steven Zecker, Leileata Russo … (2005)

The auditory brainstem response reflects neural encoding of the acoustic characteristic of a speech syllable with remarkable precision. Some children with learning impairments demonstrate abnormalities in this preconscious measure of neural encoding especially in background noise. This study investigated whether auditory training targeted to remediate perceptually-based learning problems would alter the neural brainstem encoding of the acoustic sound structure of speech in such children. Nine subjects, clinically diagnosed with a language-based learning problem (e.g., dyslexia), worked with auditory perceptual training software. Prior to beginning and within three months after completing the training program, brainstem responses to the syllable /da/ were recorded in quiet and background noise. Subjects underwent additional auditory neurophysiological, perceptual, and cognitive testing. Ten control subjects, who did not participate in any remediation program, underwent the same battery of tests at time intervals equivalent to the trained subjects. Transient and sustained (frequency-following response) components of the brainstem response were evaluated. The primary pathway afferent volley -- neural events occurring earlier than 11 ms after stimulus onset -- did not demonstrate plasticity. However, quiet-to-noise inter-response correlations of the sustained response ( approximately 11-50 ms) increased significantly in the trained children, reflecting improved stimulus encoding precision, whereas control subjects did not exhibit this change. Thus, auditory training can alter the preconscious neural encoding of complex sounds by improving neural synchrony in the auditory brainstem. Additionally, several measures of brainstem response timing were related to changes in cortical physiology, as well as perceptual, academic, and cognitive measures from pre- to post-training.

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Musical training, individual differences and the cocktail party problem

Jayaganesh Swaminathan, Christine Mason, Timothy Streeter … (2015)

Are musicians better able to understand speech in noise than non-musicians? Recent findings have produced contradictory results. Here we addressed this question by asking musicians and non-musicians to understand target sentences masked by other sentences presented from different spatial locations, the classical ‘cocktail party problem’ in speech science. We found that musicians obtained a substantial benefit in this situation, with thresholds ~6 dB better than non-musicians. Large individual differences in performance were noted particularly for the non-musically trained group. Furthermore, in different conditions we manipulated the spatial location and intelligibility of the masking sentences, thus changing the amount of ‘informational masking’ (IM) while keeping the amount of ‘energetic masking’ (EM) relatively constant. When the maskers were unintelligible and spatially separated from the target (low in IM), musicians and non-musicians performed comparably. These results suggest that the characteristics of speech maskers and the amount of IM can influence the magnitude of the differences found between musicians and non-musicians in multiple-talker “cocktail party” environments. Furthermore, considering the task in terms of the EM-IM distinction provides a conceptual framework for future behavioral and neuroscientific studies which explore the underlying sensory and cognitive mechanisms contributing to enhanced “speech-in-noise” perception by musicians.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Iran J Otorhinolaryngol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Iran J Otorhinolaryngol

Journal ID (publisher-id): IJO

Title: Iranian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology

Publisher: Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (Mashhad, Iran )

ISSN (Print): 2251-7251

ISSN (Electronic): 2251-726X

Publication date (Print): July 2020

Volume: 32

Issue: 111

Pages: 229-236

Affiliations

[1 ] Department of Audiology, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran.

[2 ] Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

[3 ] Department of Speech Therapy, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

[4 ] Department of Biostatistics, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

[5 ] Department of Audiology, Rehabilitation Research Center, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Author notes

[* ]Corresponding Author: Department of Audiology, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. E-mail: atta.heidari@gmail.com

Article

DOI: 10.22038/ijorl.2019.33433.2110

PMC ID: 7423087

SO-VID: b4650423-4380-401c-80da-f7f0f0803974

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Effect of Vowel Auditory Training on the Speech-In-Noise Perception among Older Adults with Normal Hearing

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Abstract

Introduction:

Materials and Methods:

Results:

Conclusion:

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Hearing Loss and Restoration

Most cited references 33

Brainstem responses to speech syllables.

Auditory training improves neural timing in the human brainstem.

Musical training, individual differences and the cocktail party problem

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