Dynamic Relation Between Working Memory Capacity and Speech Recognition in Noise During the First 6 Months of Hearing Aid Use

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the changing relationship between aided speech recognition and cognitive function during the first 6 months of hearing aid use. Twenty-seven first-time hearing aid users with symmetrical mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss were recruited. Aided speech recognition thresholds in noise were obtained in the hearing aid fitting session as well as at 3 and 6 months postfitting. Cognitive abilities were assessed using a reading span test, which is a measure of working memory capacity, and a cognitive test battery. Results showed a significant correlation between reading span and speech reception threshold during the hearing aid fitting session. This relation was significantly weakened over the first 6 months of hearing aid use. Multiple regression analysis showed that reading span was the main predictor of speech recognition thresholds in noise when hearing aids were first fitted, but that the pure-tone average hearing threshold was the main predictor 6 months later. One way of explaining the results is that working memory capacity plays a more important role in speech recognition in noise initially rather than after 6 months of use. We propose that new hearing aid users engage working memory capacity to recognize unfamiliar processed speech signals because the phonological form of these signals cannot be automatically matched to phonological representations in long-term memory. As familiarization proceeds, the mismatch effect is alleviated, and the engagement of working memory capacity is reduced.

Hearing aid noise suppression and working memory function

“…2.1), they were not accustomed to the sound of the specific HA settings tested here. Ng et al (2014) obtained data consistent with the idea that novice HA users with long reading span can quickly adapt to unfamiliar HA settings, whereas novice users with short reading span need up to 6 months to do so. Habicht et al (2016) obtained data consistent with the idea that ≥1 year of bilateral HA experience positively impacts speech comprehension in noise,…”

Hearing aid experience and background noise affect the robust relationship between working memory and speech recognition in noise

“…The relationship between speech recognition threshold (SRT) and working memory capacity (WMC) has been well-established (denoted as WMC-SRT relationship in this article), and has been found robust in listeners with and without hearing loss (e.g. Petersen et al 2016;Gordon-Salant and Cole 2016;Ng et al 2014;; more examples, (Gatehouse and Gordon 1990;Davis 2003;Gatehouse, Naylor, and Elberling 2003;Lunner 2003;Foo et al 2007;Lunner and Sundewall-Thor en 2007;Moore 2008;Rudner et al 2009;Rudner, R€ onnberg, and Lunner 2011;Picou, Ricketts, and Hornsby 2013;Dryden et al 2017). However, the general picture may have to be nuanced after a recent meta-analysis by (F€ ullgrabe and Rosen 2016).…”

Effects of Cognitive Load on Pure-Tone Audiometry Thresholds in Younger and Older Adults

“…In such conditions, cognitive resources might be recruited to bridge gaps in the impoverished auditory input. Consequently, improving peripheral hearing, through hearing aid technology for instance, could allow cognitive spare capacity to be redeployed to other tasks, and hence, reduce cognitive load (CL), listening effort, and fatigue (Sarampalis et al 2009;Hornsby 2013;Ng et al 2014;Qian et al 2016).…”