Medial Olivocochlear Functioning and Speech Perception in Noise in Older Adults

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 328-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siti Zamratol-Mai Sarah Mukari ◽  
Wan Hasyimah Wan Mamat
Author(s):  
Alexandre Chauvin ◽  
Shari Baum ◽  
Natalie A. Phillips

Purpose Speech perception in noise becomes difficult with age but can be facilitated by audiovisual (AV) speech cues and sentence context in healthy older adults. However, individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) may present with deficits in AV integration, potentially limiting the extent to which they can benefit from AV cues. This study investigated the benefit of these cues in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), individuals with AD, and healthy older adult controls. Method This study compared auditory-only and AV speech perception of sentences presented in noise. These sentences had one of two levels of context: high (e.g., “Stir your coffee with a spoon”) and low (e.g., “Bob didn't think about the spoon”). Fourteen older controls ( M age = 72.71 years, SD = 9.39), 13 individuals with MCI ( M age = 79.92 years, SD = 5.52), and nine individuals with probable Alzheimer's-type dementia ( M age = 79.38 years, SD = 3.40) completed the speech perception task and were asked to repeat the terminal word of each sentence. Results All three groups benefited (i.e., identified more terminal words) from AV and sentence context. Individuals with MCI showed a smaller AV benefit compared to controls in low-context conditions, suggesting difficulties with AV integration. Individuals with AD showed a smaller benefit in high-context conditions compared to controls, indicating difficulties with AV integration and context use in AD. Conclusions Individuals with MCI and individuals with AD do benefit from AV speech and semantic context during speech perception in noise (albeit to a lower extent than healthy older adults). This suggests that engaging in face-to-face communication and providing ample context will likely foster more effective communication between patients and caregivers, professionals, and loved ones.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Chen ◽  
Lena L. N. Wong ◽  
Shaina Shing Chan ◽  
Joannie Yu

Chinese-speaking older adults usually do not perceive a hearing problem until audiometric thresholds exceed 45 dB HL, and the audiometric thresholds of the average hearing-aid (HA) user often exceed 60 dB HL. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between cognitive and hearing functions (measured as audiometric or speech reception thresholds) in older Chinese adults with HAs and with untreated hearing loss (HL). Participants were 49 Chinese older adults who used HAs and had moderate to severe HL (HA group), and 46 older Chinese who had mild to moderately severe HL but did not use HAs (untreated; or UT group). Multiple linear regression analysis was employed to evaluate how well age, education level, audiometric thresholds, and speech perception in noise were related to performance on general cognitive function, working memory, executive function, attention, and verbal learning tests. Results showed that speech perception in noise alone accounted for 13–25% of the variance in general cognitive function, working memory, and executive function in the UT group, and 9–21% of the variance in general cognitive function and verbal learning in the HA group (i.e., medium effect sizes). Audiometric thresholds did not explain any proportion of the variance in cognitive functioning in the HA or UT group. Thus, speech perception in noise accounts for more variance in cognitive performance than audiometric thresholds, and is significantly associated with different cognitive functions in older Chinese adults with HAs and with untreated HL.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-132
Author(s):  
Donghoon Kang ◽  
So Hyun Kim ◽  
Dajung Yun ◽  
Junghwa Bahng

Purpose: The present study examines auditory training outcomes in terms of speech perception in noise, working memory, reasoning ability, and subjective hearing aid satisfaction. Methods: Ten older adults who wear hearing aids (mean age: 71.6) voluntarily participated in the study. For the training material, 78 sentence sets composed of 3 to 5 sentences were used. During the auditory training, participants tried to remember the order of sentences. Among the 78 sentence sets, 45 contained clues and the rest did not. Each participant underwent assessments including speech perception in noise and digit spans and reasoning test and completed a self-report hearing aid satisfaction questionnaire both pre- and post-auditory training. The participants completed eight sessions of the auditory training. Results: The results showed a statistically significant increase in speech recognition ability in noise, short-term memory, and working memory, as well as satisfaction with hearing aid use. Despite a slight increase on the reasoning test, there was no statistically significant improvement.Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that the auditory training in remembering the order of sentences improved speech perception in noise, sensory and working memory, and subjective satisfaction with hearing aids. Future research can investigate more effective auditory training tools to improve the various cognitive skills and communication ability of older adults who wear hearing aids.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2S) ◽  
pp. 508-515
Author(s):  
L. Yashaswini ◽  
Sandeep Maruthy

Purpose The study aimed to assess the relationship between the level-dependent function of efferent inhibition and speech perception in noise across different intensities of suppressor and across different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of speech. Method Twenty-six young normal-hearing adults participated in the study. Contralateral suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) was measured for 3 levels of suppressor (40, 50, and 60 dB SPL). Speech identification score (SIS) was measured at 5 ipsilateral SNR conditions (quiet, 0, −5, −10, and −15 dB), with and without contralateral broadband noise at 3 levels (40, 50, and 60 dB SPL). Furthermore, SNR-50 was measured with and without the same 3 levels of contralateral broadband noise. Results The results showed that the suppression magnitude of TEOAE increased with an increase in suppressor level. However, neither SIS nor SNR-50 was influenced by the contralateral noise. In addition, SIS and SNR-50 did not show significant correlation with contralateral suppression of TEOAEs. This was true at all the SNRs and contralateral noise levels used in the study. Conclusions The findings suggest that the intensity of noise directly influences medial olivocochlear bundle–mediated efferent inhibition. However, the role of the medial olivocochlear bundle in regulating speech perception in noise needs to be revisited. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9336353


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 115-120
Author(s):  
Lydia Behtani ◽  
◽  
Adrian Fuente ◽  
Alejandro Ianiszewski ◽  
Rida Al Osman ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 283-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pitchai Muthu Arivudai Nambi ◽  
Ankmnal Veeranna Sangamanatha ◽  
Mysore Dwarakanath Vikas ◽  
Jayashree. S. Bhat ◽  
Kumara Shama

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick C. M. Wong ◽  
Marc Ettlinger ◽  
John P. Sheppard ◽  
Geshri M. Gunasekera ◽  
Sumitrajit Dhar

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