Measuring listening effort: driving simulator versus simple dual-task paradigm.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Human Factors Engineering
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• The dual-task paradigm is a standard method for assessing listening effort.
• Understanding listening effort is crucial for evaluating hearing aid effectiveness in real-world scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of hearing aid amplification and directional technology on listening effort using a complex, real-world dual-task paradigm.
• To compare listening effort measurements from a simulated driving task with those from a simpler laboratory-based dual-task paradigm.

Main Methods:

• Adults with hearing impairment performed speech recognition concurrently with either a simulated driving task or a visual reaction-time task.
• Speech materials and road noise were recorded in realistic driving conditions.
• Listening effort was quantified by changes in driving or reaction-time task performance across unaided, omnidirectional (OMNI), and directional (DIR) hearing aid conditions.

Main Results:

• While hearing aids improved speech recognition, driving performance did not differ significantly across unaided, OMNI, and DIR conditions, indicating no reduction in listening effort.
• A simpler dual-task paradigm showed similar trends: improved speech recognition but no change in reaction-time performance.
• Younger adults with normal hearing in a follow-up study showed improved performance in both tasks with directional technology, unlike older hearing-impaired participants.

Conclusions:

• Simulated driving performance decreased when a speech task was added.
• Hearing aid technologies enhanced speech recognition during driving but did not significantly reduce listening effort in older adults.
• The benefits of hearing aid technology on listening effort observed in younger, normal-hearing individuals may not directly translate to older adults with hearing impairment.