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To explore the detection of cortical responses to continuous speech using a single EEG channel. Particularly, to compare detection rates and times using a cross-correlation approach and parameters extracted from the temporal response function (TRF). EEG from 32-channels were recorded whilst presenting 25-min continuous English speech. Detection parameters were cross-correlation between speech and EEG (XCOR), peak value and power of the TRF filter (TRF-peak and TRF-power), and correlation between predicted TRF and true EEG (TRF-COR). A bootstrap analysis was used to determine response statistical significance. Different electrode configurations were compared: Using single channels Cz or Fz, or selecting channels with the highest correlation value. Seventeen native English-speaking subjects with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Significant cortical responses were detected from all subjects at Fz channel with XCOR and TRF-COR. Lower detection time was seen for XCOR (mean = 4.8 min) over TRF parameters (best TRF-COR, mean = 6.4 min), with significant time differences from XCOR to TRF-peak and TRF-power. Analysing multiple EEG channels and testing channels with the highest correlation between envelope and EEG reduced detection sensitivity compared to Fz alone. Cortical responses to continuous speech can be detected from a single channel with recording times that may be suitable for clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate and compare the effectiveness and quality of standard face-to-face and teleaudiology hearing aid fitting follow-up consultations and blended services for adult hearing aid users. Fifty-six participants were randomly allocated to two equal groups, with equal numbers of new and experienced users. One standard and one teleaudiology follow-up consultation were delivered by an audiologist, the latter assisted by a facilitator. The order was reversed for the second group. Outcome measurement tools were applied to assess aspects of participants' communication, fitting (physical, sensorial), quality of life, and service. Cross-sectional and longitudinal outcomes were analysed. Most participants presented with moderate, sloping, and symmetrical sensorineural hearing loss. The duration of teleaudiology (42.96 ± 2.73 min) was equivalent to face-to-face consultations (41.25 ± 2.61 min). All modes of service delivery significantly improved outcomes for communication, fitting, and quality of life (p > 0.05). Satisfaction for both consultation modes was high, although significantly greater with standard consultations. The mode and order of delivery of the consultations did not influence the outcomes. Teleaudiology hearing aid follow-up consultations can deliver significant improvements, and do not differ from standard consultations. Blended services also deliver significant improvements. Satisfaction can be negatively impacted by technical or human-related issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We used a minimally-modified version of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) to treat symptoms of distress associated with tinnitus. Design: Audiological screening (establishing a baseline) was conducted prior to treatment and at three time-points: pre-intervention, post-intervention and follow-up, 8 weeks after completion of training. MRI tests were also conducted at these three time-points. Study sample: Twenty-one participants were enrolled in the study, of whom 15 completed training and audiological testing and eight completed the MRI portion of the study. Results: Scores on tinnitus-related questionnaires showed a significant decline either from pre- to post-intervention or from pre-intervention to follow-up, despite no significant change during baseline. Voxel-based morphometric analysis of the structural MRI scans revealed clusters in bilateral superior frontal gyrus that exhibited significant increases in grey matter volume over the period of intervention and follow-up. Further, grey matter changes in occipital and cingulate regions correlated with declines in tinnitus handicap. Conclusions: This pilot study supports MBCT as an adequate approach for treating distressing tinnitus and suggests that neuroanatomical changes may reflect reductions in tinnitus-related severity. Although our small sample size precludes drawing strong conclusions, there is potential for assessing neuroanatomical changes due to mindfulness-based interventions in tinnitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the temporal processing skills and speech in noise perception of hearing-impaired individuals through channel free and multichannel hearing aids. Design: A quasi-experimental study. Study sample: Twenty-one participants with sensory neural hearing loss were involved in the study. They were subjected to a series of temporal processing (TMTF, GDT & CMR-UCM/CM) and speech in noise test using a multichannel and channel-free hearing aid. Subsequently, they rated sound quality and hearing aid preferences. Objectively, the hearing aid signal output was acoustically analysed for modulation detection and gap detection tasks. Results: In all the test, participants manifested equal performance with the tested devices except CMR-CM task where channel-free outperformed. Acoustic analysis showed evidence of spectral and temporal distortion in channel-free hearing aid, similar to multichannel hearing aids. Finally, channel free was the most preferred hearing aid by less experienced participants. Conclusion: All the measures indicated similar performance across the tested devices and complemented one another in their explanation of study findings. Faster gain adjustments of channel free across the frequency facilitated better-comodulated masking release than that achieved with MCC. Preference for the sound quality of the channel free was based on factors, usually subjective. Channel-free hearing aid depicted spectral and envelope distortion, like MCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: An experiment was conducted to investigate the possibility that speech perception could be improved for some cochlear implant (CI) users by adjustment of the frequency allocation to the electrodes, following assessment of pitch perception along the electrode array. Study sample: Thirteen adult CI users with MED-EL devices participated in the study. Design: Pitch perception was assessed for individual CI electrode pairs using the Pitch Contour Test (PCT), giving information on pitch discrimination and pitch ranking for adjacent electrodes. Sentence perception in noise was also assessed with ten different frequency allocations, including the default. Results: Pitch perception was found to be poorer for both discrimination and ranking scores at either end of the electrode array. A significant effect of frequency allocation was found for sentence scores [F(4.24,38.2) = 7.14, p < 0.001] and a significant interaction between sentence score and PCT ranking score for basal electrodes was found [F(4.24,38.2) = 2.95, p = 0.03]. Participants with poorer pitch perception at the basal end had poorer scores for some allocations with greater basal shift. Conclusions: The results suggest that speech perception could be improved for CI users by assessment of pitch perception using the PCT and subsequent adjustment of pitch-related stimulation parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present study investigated: (a) how motivated patients are to use their hearing aid, and (b) whether post-motivational variables (e.g. action planning, coping planning) have anything to offer in terms of developing interventions to boost hearing aid use. Design: participants completed a questionnaire designed to tap Health Action Process Approach constructs prior to their hearing aid prescription and fitting. Study sample: Sixty-seven patients attending NHS audiology clinics. Results: Participants reported very strong intentions to use hearing aids (Median = 7.00 Q1 and Q3 = 6.67, 7.00, on a +1 to +7 scale) and high self-efficacy (Median = 7.00, Q1 and Q3 = 6.00, on a +1 to +7 scale) leaving little room for improvement. In contrast, participants reported moderate levels of post-motivational variables (action planning Median = 4.25, Q1 and Q3 = 1.13, 7.00 and coping planning Median = 2.75, Q1 and Q3 = 1.00, both measured on +1 to +7 scales) thereby showing significant scope for change. Conclusions: Future interventions to increase hearing aid use should focus on ensuring that patients' motivation is translated into action, rather than further trying to boost motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Two modifications of the standardised MUlti Stimulus test with Hidden Reference and Anchor (MUSHRA), namely MUSHRA simple and MUSHRA drag&drop, were implemented and evaluated together with the original test method. The modifications were designed to maximise the accessibility of MUSHRA for elderly and technically non-experienced listeners, who constitute the typical target group in hearing aid evaluation. Design: Three MUSHRA variants were assessed based on subjective and objective measures, e.g. test-retest reliability, discrimination ability, time exposure and overall preference. With each method, participants repeated the task to rate the quality of several hearing aid algorithms four times. Study sample: Fifty listeners grouped into five subject classes were tested, including elderly and technically non-experienced participants with normal and impaired hearing. Normal-hearing, technically experienced students served as controls. Results: Both modifications can be used to obtain compatible rating results. Both were preferred over the classical MUSHRA procedure. Technically experienced listeners performed best with the modification MUSHRA drag&drop. Conclusions: The comprehensive comparison of the MUSHRA variants demonstrates that the intuitive modification MUSHRA drag&drop can be generally recommended. However, considering e.g. specific evaluation demands, we suggest a differentiated and careful application of listening test methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the validity and efficacy of a transient noise reduction algorithm (TNR) in cochlear implant processing and the interaction of TNR with a continuous noise reduction algorithm (CNR). Design: We studied the effects of TNR and CNR on the perception of realistic sound samples with transients, using subjective ratings of annoyance, a speech-in-noise test and a noise tolerance test. Study sample: Participants were 16 experienced cochlear implant recipients wearing an Advanced Bionics Naida Q70 processor. Results: CI users rated sounds with transients as moderately annoying. Annoyance was slightly, but significantly reduced by TNR. Transients caused a large decrease in speech intelligibility in noise and a moderate decrease in noise tolerance, measured on the Acceptable Noise Level test. The TNR had no significant effect on noise tolerance or on speech intelligibility in noise. The combined application of TNR and CNR did not result in interactions. Conclusions: The TNR algorithm was effective in reducing annoyance from transient sounds, but was not able to prevent a decreasing effect of transients on speech understanding in noise and noise tolerance. TNR did not reduce the beneficial effect of CNR on speech intelligibility in noise, but no cumulated improvement was found either. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Research findings concerning the relation between benefit from hearing aid (HA) noise suppression and working memory function are inconsistent. The current study thus investigated the effects of three noise suppression algorithms on auditory working memory and the relation with reading span. Design: Using a computer simulation of bilaterally fitted HAs, four settings were tested: (1) unprocessed, (2) directional microphones, (3) single-channel noise reduction, and (4) binaural coherence-based noise reduction. Settings 2-4 were matched in terms of the speech-weighted signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement. Auditory working memory was assessed at +6 dB SNR using listening span and N-back paradigms. Study sample: Twenty experienced HA users aged 55-80 years with large differences in reading span. Results: For the listening span measurements, there was an influence of HA setting on sentence-final word recognition and recall, with the directional microphones leading to ∼6% better performance than the single-channel noise reduction. For the N-back measurements, there was substantial test-retest variability and no influence of HA setting. No interactions with reading span were found. Conclusion: HA noise suppression may affect the recognition and recall of speech at positive SNRs, irrespective of individual reading span. Future work should improve the reliability of the auditory working memory measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives:The newest Nucleus CI processor, the CP900, has two new options to improve speech-in-noise perception: (1) use of an adaptive directional microphone (SCAN mode) and (2) wireless connection to MiniMic1 and MiniMic2 wireless remote microphones.Design:An analysis was made of the absolute and relative benefits of these technologies in a real-world mimicking test situation. Speech perception was tested using an adaptive speech-in-noise test (sentences-in-babble noise). In session A, SRTs were measured in three conditions: (1) Clinical Map, (2) SCAN and (3) MiniMic1. Each was assessed for three distances between speakers and CI recipient: 1 m, 2 m and 3 m. In session B, the benefit of the use of MiniMic2 was compared to benefit of MiniMic1 at 3 m.Study sample:A group of 13 adult CP900 recipients participated.Results:SCAN and MiniMic1 improved performance compared to the standard microphone with a median improvement in SRT of 2.7–3.9 dB for SCAN at 1 m and 3 m, respectively, and 4.7–10.9 dB for the MiniMic1. MiniMic1 improvements were significant. MiniMic2 showed an improvement in SRT of 22.2 dB compared to 10.0 dB for MiniMic1 (3 m).Conclusions:Digital wireless transmission systems (i.e. MiniMic) offer a statistically and clinically significant improvement in speech perception in challenging, realistic listening conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the benefit of a wireless remote microphone (MM) for speech recognition in noise in bimodal adult cochlear implant (CI) users both in a test setting and in daily life.Design: This prospective study measured speech reception thresholds in noise in a repeated measures design with factors including bimodal hearing and MM use. The participants also had a 3-week trial period at home with the MM.Study sample: Thirteen post-lingually deafened adult bimodal CI users.Results: A significant improvement in SRT of 5.4 dB was found between the use of the CI with the MM and the use of the CI without the MM. By also pairing the MM to the hearing aid (HA) another improvement in SRT of 2.2 dB was found compared to the situation with the MM paired to the CI alone. In daily life, participants reported better speech perception for various challenging listening situations, when using the MM in the bimodal condition.Conclusion: There is a clear advantage of bimodal listening (CI and HA) compared to CI alone when applying advanced wireless remote microphone techniques to improve speech understanding in adult bimodal CI users. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the efficacy of Auditory Rehabilitation for Interaural Asymmetry (ARIA) to improve dichotic listening scores in children and adolescents diagnosed with amblyaudia and other binaural integration deficits. Design: The study is a field experiment without randomisation. Study: Participants placed into groups based on dichotic listening test scores received four sessions of ARIA training. Baseline scores were compared to performance during the final session of training and to scores obtained 2 or more months after completion of ARIA. Sample: A total of 125 children participated at five different clinical sites. Results: Dichotic listening scores improved across all participants. Post hoc analyses demonstrated highly significant gains in non-dominant ear performance and reductions of interaural asymmetry among participants diagnosed with amblyaudia at both post-ARIA measurements. Participants in other diagnostic groups also showed significant benefits for some post-ARIA measures. Conclusions: Results demonstrate that ARIA training is an effective method for improving binaural integration skills among children and adolescents identified with dichotic listening weaknesses during assessments for auditory processing disorder (APD), especially for those diagnosed with amblyaudia. Benefits achieved following ARIA training remain stable across several months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess perceived listening effort and speech intelligibility in reverberant and noisy conditions for hearing-impaired listeners for conditions that are similar according to the speech transmission index (STI). Design: Scaled listening effort was measured in four different conditions at five different STI generated using various relative contributions of noise and reverberant interferences. Intelligibility was measured for a subset of conditions. Study sample: Twenty mildly to moderately hearing-impaired listeners. Results: In general, listening effort decreased and speech intelligibility increased with increasing STI. For simulated impulse responses consisting of white Gaussian noise exponentially decaying in time, a good agreement between conditions of different relative contributions of noise and reverberation was found. For real impulse responses, the STI slightly overestimated the effect of reverberation on the perceived listening effort and underestimated its effect on speech intelligibility. Including the average hearing loss in the calculation of the STI led to a better agreement between STI predictions and subjective data. Conclusion: Speech intelligibility and listening effort provide complementary tools to evaluate speech perception over a broad range of acoustic scenarios. In addition, when incorporating hearing loss information the STI provides a rough prediction of listening effort in these acoustic scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]