Speech-in-Noise Perception According to Subtypes of Mild Cognitive Impairment

Soo Jung Lee(이수정),Kyung Won Park(박경원),Lee-Suk Kim(김리석),HyangHee Kim(김향희) 한국언어치료학회 2016 한국언어치료학회 학술발표대회 논문집 Vol.2016 No.12

Purpose: The objectives of the current study are as follows: 1) to compare speech-in-noise perception performance among mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subgroups and a cognitively normal elderly (CNE) group; and 2) to explore cognitive domains specifically related to speech-in-noise perception. Methods: Data were collected on samples of 46 patients with MCI and 39 hearing threshold-matched CNE subjects. Two different patient classifications were used: 1) patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI) (n=21) or patients with non-amnestic MCI (naMCI) (n=25); and 2) patients with frontal-executive dysfunction (FED) (n=16) or patients without FED (n=30). All subjects received audiometric, neuropsychological, and speech-in-noise perception assessments. Speech-in-noise perception was measured via sentence recognition tests with speech-spectrum and multi-talker babble background noise at four SNRs: +5 dB, 0 dB, -2 dB, and -5 dB. Results: First, the MCI with FED group scored lower than both the MCI without FED and the CNE groups under both types of noise when the SNR fell from 0 dB to -5 dB. At SNR + 5 dB, there was no group difference in the presence of speech-spectrum noise, but the MCI with FED group still scored lower than the CNE group in the presence of multi-talker babble noise. Second, there were no differences between the aMCI and naMCI groups in speech perception performance under any noisy conditions. Third, significant positive correlations were found between speech-in-noise perception and frontal-executive function in the MCI patients. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that frontal-executive function strongly relates to speech-in-noise perception. Considering that deficits in speech-in-noise perception are related to increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia, MCI patients with FED who have severely impaired speech perception may have a higher risk of developing dementia. These patients should receive cognitive training focused on frontal-executive function and audiological rehabilitation.

Relationship between Speech Perception in Noise and Phonemic Restoration of Speech in Noise in Individuals with Normal Hearing

Vijayasarathy Srikar,Barman Animesh 대한청각학회 2020 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.24 No.4

Background and Objectives: Top-down restoration of distorted speech, tapped as phonemic restoration of speech in noise, maybe a useful tool to understand robustness of perception in adverse listening situations. However, the relationship between phonemic restoration and speech perception in noise is not empirically clear.Subjects and Methods: 20 adults (40-55 years) with normal audiometric findings were part of the study. Sentence perception in noise performance was studied with various signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) to estimate the SNR with 50% score. Performance was also measured for sentences interrupted with silence and for those interrupted by speech noise at -10, -5, 0, and 5 dB SNRs. The performance score in the noise interruption condition was subtracted by quiet interruption condition to determine the phonemic restoration magnitude.Results: Fairly robust improvements in speech intelligibility was found when the sentences were interrupted with speech noise instead of silence. Improvement with increasing noise levels was non-monotonic and reached a maximum at -10 dB SNR. Significant correlation between speech perception in noise performance and phonemic restoration of sentences interrupted with -10 dB SNR speech noise was found.Conclusions: It is possible that perception of speech in noise is associated with top-down processing of speech, tapped as phonemic restoration of interrupted speech. More research with a larger sample size is indicated since the restoration is affected by the type of speech material and noise used, age, working memory, and linguistic proficiency, and has a large individual variability.

Sensitivity Enhancement of Speech Perception in Noise by Sound Training: Hearing Loss Simulation Study

김인영,김희평,한종희,Sun I Kim,See Youn Kwon,Sung Hwa Hong,이상민,김동욱 대한의용생체공학회 2011 Biomedical Engineering Letters (BMEL) Vol.1 No.2

Purpose Speech perception in noise is one of most important factors which people with hearing loss desire for better hearing. This study aims to verify the effectiveness of sound training for speech perception enhancement in background noise. Methods In our experiments, persons with normal hearing listened sounds coming through a hearing loss simulator to make them experience hearing loss virtually. In the sound training, we used the spectral ripple noise that is highly correlated to the sensitivity of speech perception in quit and noise with normal hearing person, hearing impaired person,hearing aid user, and cochlear implant user. Fourteen normalhearing subjects participated in this study. To investigate the effect of the sound training, we divided the subjects into 2group “Training group”, “Non Training group”. Each group consists of 7 normal hearing persons (Training group: male-6, female-1, Non Training group: male-5, female-2). Results The effectiveness of sound training was evaluated by the threshold of spectral resolution discrimination and the threshold of Speech perception. It was also statistically analyzed by Wilcoxon Signed test (*p<0.05). In training group, spectral resolution has improved from 8.6 ripple per octave (RPO) to 13.6 RPO. Speech perception in white noise has improved from -4.6 dB to -7.7 dB. In addition, speech perception in babble noise has improved from -4.3 dB to -7.4dB. The results were statistically significant in the training group. On the other hand, non-training group improved spectral resolution from 8 RPO to 8.4 RPO, but this result did not show statistical significance. Also speech perception in both babble and white noise did not show statistical significance. Conclusions Our results suggest that the perceptual improvement of spectral-component dissolving is significantly reflects to the speech perception in noise.

Association between Frontal-Executive Dysfunction and Speech-in-Noise Perception Deficits in Mild Cognitive Impairment

이수정,박경원,김리석,김향희 대한신경과학회 2018 Journal of Clinical Neurology Vol.14 No.4

Background and Purpose Speech-in-noise perception deficits have been demonstrated in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, it remains unclear whether the impairment of speech perception varies between MCI subtypes. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to compare speech perception performance among MCI subgroups, and 2) to identify the cognitive domains specifically related to speech-in-noise perception. Methods We studied 46 patients with MCI and 39 hearing-threshold-matched cognitively normal elderly (CNE) subjects. Two different patient classifications were used: 1) patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) (n=21) or nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment (naMCI) (n=25), and 2) patients with frontal-executive dysfunction (FED) (n=16) or without FED (n=30). All of the subjects underwent audiometric, neuropsychological, and speech perception assessments. Speech-in-noise perception was measured using sentence recognition tests in the presence of two types of background noise at four levels. Results First, as the level of background noise increased, the MCI with FED group scored lower than both the MCI without FED and CNE groups under both types of noise. Second, both the naMCI and aMCI groups scored lower than the CNE group, but there were no differences between the naMCI and aMCI groups in sentence recognition under any noise conditions. Third, significant correlations were found between sentence recognition and executive function scores both in the MCI groups and in the CNE group. Conclusions Our findings suggest that frontal-executive function is strongly related to speechin- noise perception and that MCI patients with FED have greater deficits in speech-in-noise perception compared to other subgroups of MCI.

인공와우 사용자들의 대뇌피질 청성 유발전위에 대한 소음의 영향

이지현,한지혜 한국청각언어재활학회 2019 Audiology and Speech Research Vol.15 No.1

Purpose: Cochlear implant (CI) users typically complain of impaired ability to understand speech in noise. Previous studies indicate that the detrimental effects of noise can be measured by the change of neural activities. The current study examined the noise effect on psychoacoustic measures while at the same time used cortical evoked potentials to quantify the change of neural processing of speech sounds caused by noise. Methods: Ten adult CI users and fourteen normal-hearing subjects were participated in this study. Cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) were recorded from 64 scalp electrodes in both quiet and noise conditions each during passive and active listening. Speech stimuli were synthesized consonant-vowels with 0 ms and 50 ms voice onset time (VOT). N1/P2 amplitudes and latencies were analyzed as a function of VOT and listening condition. Behavioral measures as well as a variety of speech perception tasks were conducted. Results: For good CI users, speech perception scores in noise condition significantly decreased compared to those in quiet condition for most speech perception tasks. N1 and P2 latencies became prolonged with noise masking compared to the quiet condition. However, unlike what we expected, attentional modulation of CAEPs was not revealed in noise listening. The P2 latency measures were correlated with vowel and consonant perception in noise. Conclusion: The effects of noise masking on temporal processing can be reflected in cortical responses in CI users. These results suggest that N1/P2 measures to VOT stimuli with noise masking may represent the change of neural activities in challenging listening situations.

변동형 소음 하 문장인지 평가 도구의 비교

이재희,이동운 한국청각언어재활학회 2017 Audiology and Speech Research Vol.13 No.1

Purpose: Daily communication often requires the ability to understand speech in background noise. Given that speech-in-noise understanding is not predictable from speech recognition in quiet and that sentences are more representative of daily communication, different forms (fixed vs. adaptive) of sentence-in-noise tests have been developed and standardized. Relative to the fixed test, the adaptive sentence-in-noise tests are known to be more useful to adjust the difficulty level of the test. Given this advantage, the present review focuses on the features of the adaptive sentence-in-noise tests. Methods: Various types of adaptive sentence-in-noise tests have been developed internationally and standardized for multi-language. This paper compares and summarizes three adaptive sentence-in-noise tests (Hearing in Noise Test, Quick Speech-In-Noise test, and Matrix test) in terms of the three aspects: 1) sources of target sentences and background noise, 2) test procedure and scoring formula, and 3) norms and interpretation of test results. Results: For all the types of adaptive tests, the intensity level of the target sentence or the noise is adjusted based on the listener’s response. The sources of target sentences and background noise differ among tests. Various multi-lingual versions of the Hearing in Noise Test and the Matrix test have been developed and reported. All the three tests measure sentence recognition threshold where correct sentence recognition of 50% occurs. However, the test procedure (i.e., presentation of stimuli/noise, the step size), the scoring formula, and the method to establish norms and interpret the test results depend on the purpose of each test. Conclusion: Compared to other languages, a lack of Korean adaptive sentence-in-noise test tools poses challenges for clinical practice and research in Korea. Thus, development of the adaptive Korean sentence-in-noise test which is reliable and efficient is required to quantify speech-recognition abilities of listeners with hearing loss. After developing the adaptive test, the reliability and validity tests need to be continued to estimate the amount of everyday communication difficulty sensitively and to provide better insights into the appropriate amplification and communication strategies.

Effects of Ageing and Hearing Thresholds on Speech Perception in Quiet and in Noise Perceived in Different Locations

Siti Zamratol-Mai Sarah Mukari,Nor Haniza Abdul Wahat,Rafidah Mazlan 대한청각학회 2014 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.18 No.3

Background and Objectives: This study investigated the effect of ageing on speech perception in quiet and in noise, with noise directed from front, right and left. Subjects and Methods: Sixty Malay native adults with normal or near normal hearing comprising of 20 young adults (21 to 39 years old), 20 middle aged (40 to 59 years old) and 20 older adults (60 to 74 years old) participated in this study. Their speech perception ability was measured using the Malay Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) in four test conditions; 1) in quiet (HINT Q), 2) with noise from front (HINT NF), 3) with noise from right (HINT NR), and 4) with noise from left (HINT NL). Reception thresholds for sentences (RTSs) were measured in each of the aforementioned conditions using an adaptive method. Results: The results showed that, 1) genuine age-related decline was found in speech perception performance in HINT (NF), 2) hearing threshold was a major determinant differentiating speech perception performance for HINT (Q) and HINT (NL) conditions, and 3) speech perception performance for HINT (NR) was determined by both age and hearing threshold. Conclusions: This study suggests that, in older adults, while hearing thresholds affect speech perception in quiet, other factors such as central auditory processing and cognitive functions might be more important determinant factors for speech perception performance in noise.

Predictability effects on speech perception in noise (SPIN) in Korean

Sun-Young Lee(이선영) 한국인지과학회 2016 인지과학 Vol.27 No.1

본 연구는 한국어의 소음속말인지(Speech perception in noise, SPIN)에 대하여 알아보았다. 영어의 SPIN 테스트와 비슷한 형식을 채택하여 새로운 한국어 SPIN 테스트를 개발하였다. 예측성 효과와 소음효과, 이 둘의 상호작용에 대하여 알아봄으로써 기존의 영어에 기반을 둔 연구에서 발견한 것들을 재확인하고자 하였다. 새로운 한국어 SPIN 테스트를 사용하여 14명의 성인 한국인을 대상으로 한 실험결과는 이전 연구들이 발견한 사항들을 다시 한 번 입증하였다. 첫째, 참여자들의 대체적인 SPIN 수행능력은 상대적으로 고소음 보다 저소음환경에서 더 나았다. 둘째, 문맥상 비교적 예측하기 쉬운 단어들이 예측하기 어려운 단어들보다 특히 고소음 환경에서 더 정확히 인지되었다. 이러한 결과는 청자들이 두 가지 종류의 정보, 즉 음성적 정보와 문맥적 정보를 말인지에 적극적으로 사용한다는 것을 의미하는 것으로 해석할 수 있다. 소음으로 인해서 말소리의 음성적인 특징이 약해졌을 때 청자들은 말소리를 처리하기 위해서 언어적 문맥정보를 적극적으로 이용하는 것이다. 본 연구에서 발견한 것들은 영어의 SPIN 테스트에 기반을 둔 기존 연구들에서 발견한 것과 일치한다. 게다가, 표적어의 빈도 효과에 대한 가능성을 발견하였는데, 이는 한국어의 이 분야에 대한 더 다양하고 활발한 연구가 있어야 함을 시사한다. This study investigates speech perception in noise (SPIN) in Korean. A new type of Korean SPIN test was developed by adopting a similar format to the English SPIN test. The predictability effects, noise effects and their interactions were examined in order to verify the previous findings based on English. The data from 14 Korean adults collected with this new type of Korean SPIN test confirmed the previous findings: first, the participants’ overall performance was better in low noise conditions than in high noise conditions. Secondly, there was a tendency for highly predictable words to be more accurately perceived than less predictable words especially in high noise conditions. The results were interpreted in such a way that the listeners actively used both types of information: acoustic information and contextual information in speech perception. When the acoustic property of the speech sound was degraded with noise, the listeners took advantage of the linguistic contextual information in their processing of the speech sound. The findings of this study conform to those of the previous studies based on the English SPIN test. In addition, a possible effect of the frequency of target word was also found, calling for further investigation in this field of research in Korean. Implications of the results were also discussed.

소음 속 말 지각의 양상 및 메커니즘

이지영 ( Ji Young Lee ) 대구가톨릭대학교 자연과학연구소 2023 자연과학연구논문집 Vol.21 No.1

We live in the environment full of various background noise. The ability to perceive speech sounds in noise is crutial to successfully communicate and participate in our daily lives..Many factors affecting speech perception in noise have been examined. Of them, pitch perception, temporal and intensity processes, and cognitive capacity have been in great interests as important components to separate the target signal from the non-target noise. This paper aims to investigate the nature of speech perception in noise and its underlying mechanism. More future research could contribute to developing useful tests and rehabilitation programs for speech-in-noise perception.

Training Programs for Improving Speech Perception in Noise: A Review

Gohari Nasrin,Dastgerdi Zahra Hosseini,Rouhbakhsh Nematollah,Afshar Sara,Mobini Razieh 대한청각학회 2023 Journal of Audiology & Otology Vol.27 No.1

Understanding speech in the presence of noise is difficult and challenging, even for people with normal hearing. Accurate pitch perception, coding and decoding of temporal and intensity cues, and cognitive factors are involved in speech perception in noise (SPIN); disruption in any of these can be a barrier to SPIN. Because the physiological representations of sounds can be corrected by exercises, training methods for any impairment can be used to improve speech perception. This study describes the various types of bottom-up training methods: pitch training based on fundamental frequency (F0) and harmonics; spatial, temporal, and phoneme training; and top-down training methods, such as cognitive training of functional memory. This study also discusses music training that affects both bottom-up and top-down components and speech training in noise. Given the effectiveness of all these training methods, we recommend identifying the defects underlying SPIN disorders and selecting the best training approach.