Working memory and intelligibility of hearing-aid processed speech

Previous work suggested that individuals with low working memory capacity may be at a disadvantage in adverse listening environments, including situations with background noise or substantial modification of the acoustic signal. This study explored the relationship between patient factors (includin...

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Main Authors: Pamela eSouza, Kathryn H. Arehart, Jing eShen, Melinda eAnderson, James M. Kates
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2015-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00526/full
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spelling doaj-cdef0a0d29024c0bbb081b16501e82752020-11-25T00:19:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782015-05-01610.3389/fpsyg.2015.00526136688Working memory and intelligibility of hearing-aid processed speechPamela eSouza0Kathryn H. Arehart1Jing eShen2Melinda eAnderson3James M. Kates4Northwestern UniversityUniversity of Colarado at BoulderNorthwestern UniversityUniversity of Colarado at BoulderUniversity of Colarado at BoulderPrevious work suggested that individuals with low working memory capacity may be at a disadvantage in adverse listening environments, including situations with background noise or substantial modification of the acoustic signal. This study explored the relationship between patient factors (including working memory capacity) and intelligibility and quality of modified speech for older individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. The modification was created using a combination of hearing aid processing (wide-dynamic range compression and frequency compression) applied to sentences in multitalker babble. The extent of signal modification was quantified via an envelope fidelity index. We also explored the contribution of components of working memory by including measures of processing speed and executive function. We hypothesized that listeners with low working memory capacity would perform more poorly than those with high working memory capacity across all situations, and would also be differentially affected by high amounts of signal modification. Results showed a significant effect of working memory capacity for speech intelligibility, and an interaction between working memory, amount of hearing loss and signal modification. Signal modification was the major predictor of quality ratings. These data add to the literature on hearing-aid processing and working memory by suggesting that the working memory-intelligibility effects may be related to aggregate signal fidelity, rather than on the specific signal manipulation. They also suggest that for individuals with low working memory capacity, sensorineural loss may be most appropriately addressed with wide-dynamic range compression and/or frequency compression parameters that maintain the fidelity of the signal envelope.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00526/fullAgingHearing Lossexecutive functionsintelligibilityworking memoryAmplification
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Pamela eSouza
Kathryn H. Arehart
Jing eShen
Melinda eAnderson
James M. Kates
spellingShingle Pamela eSouza
Kathryn H. Arehart
Jing eShen
Melinda eAnderson
James M. Kates
Working memory and intelligibility of hearing-aid processed speech
Frontiers in Psychology
Aging
Hearing Loss
executive functions
intelligibility
working memory
Amplification
author_facet Pamela eSouza
Kathryn H. Arehart
Jing eShen
Melinda eAnderson
James M. Kates
author_sort Pamela eSouza
title Working memory and intelligibility of hearing-aid processed speech
title_short Working memory and intelligibility of hearing-aid processed speech
title_full Working memory and intelligibility of hearing-aid processed speech
title_fullStr Working memory and intelligibility of hearing-aid processed speech
title_full_unstemmed Working memory and intelligibility of hearing-aid processed speech
title_sort working memory and intelligibility of hearing-aid processed speech
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
series Frontiers in Psychology
issn 1664-1078
publishDate 2015-05-01
description Previous work suggested that individuals with low working memory capacity may be at a disadvantage in adverse listening environments, including situations with background noise or substantial modification of the acoustic signal. This study explored the relationship between patient factors (including working memory capacity) and intelligibility and quality of modified speech for older individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. The modification was created using a combination of hearing aid processing (wide-dynamic range compression and frequency compression) applied to sentences in multitalker babble. The extent of signal modification was quantified via an envelope fidelity index. We also explored the contribution of components of working memory by including measures of processing speed and executive function. We hypothesized that listeners with low working memory capacity would perform more poorly than those with high working memory capacity across all situations, and would also be differentially affected by high amounts of signal modification. Results showed a significant effect of working memory capacity for speech intelligibility, and an interaction between working memory, amount of hearing loss and signal modification. Signal modification was the major predictor of quality ratings. These data add to the literature on hearing-aid processing and working memory by suggesting that the working memory-intelligibility effects may be related to aggregate signal fidelity, rather than on the specific signal manipulation. They also suggest that for individuals with low working memory capacity, sensorineural loss may be most appropriately addressed with wide-dynamic range compression and/or frequency compression parameters that maintain the fidelity of the signal envelope.
topic Aging
Hearing Loss
executive functions
intelligibility
working memory
Amplification
url http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00526/full
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