Assessment of listening effort during OlSa sentence perception tests.

Listening effort (LE) is a potential measure for successful hearing in daily life, and it may limit hearing rehabilitation in Cochlear Implant (CI) users. To test the validity of LE measures, we evaluated LE in listeners with normal hearing during sentence perception in noise with 3 different measures.

Complete data were available of 20 participants between 18 and 68 years (55% f) who performed Oldenburg sentence (OlSa) tests within noise with binaural and monaural listening. First, the signal to noise ratio that allowed intelligibility of 70% was determined adaptively for each participant (SNR70). Then tests were performed with SNR70, SNR70+5dB, and SNR70+10dB. As expected, SRT were about 70% for SNR70, and about 100% for the other two conditions. LE was determined with pupillometry, and by subjective rating on an NRS scale. In addition, ACALES tests for adaptive categorial listening effort scaling were performed.

For each condition, LE was higher with monaural listening and with all 3 LE measures. Furthermore, there was a reduction in LE from SNR70 to SNR70+5dB, and a further reduction between the latter and SNR70+10dB, both in the NRS score and in pupil dilation. 

Results indicate that all measures for LE produce reliable results in normal hearing listeners. Data on CI listeners with these measures are currently recorded and it remains to be seen whether differences in LE between binaural and monaural listening, and between the different SNR conditions are similar to those observed in normal hearing listeners. 

Conflict of Interest Der Erstautor weist auf folgenden Interessenkonflikt hin Cochlear Research and Development Limited

Publication History

Article published online:
24 May 2022