Relationships between behavioural and self-report measures in speech recognition in noise

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech Science
• Hearing Health

Background:

• Assessing listening abilities in noisy environments is crucial for hearing aid users.
• Behavioral tests and self-report questionnaires are common methods for evaluating speech recognition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between behavioral (Swedish HINT, Hagerman) and self-report (Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Questionnaire - SSQ) measures of listening in adverse conditions.
• To compare these relationships in hearing aid users and normally hearing individuals.

Main Methods:

• Data from the n200-study was used.
• Behavioral tests (Swedish HINT, Hagerman) were administered using an experimental hearing aid with various masking noises.
• The SSQ was used as a self-report measure.

Main Results:

• Correlations were found between behavioral speech-in-noise measures and SSQ scores in normally hearing individuals.
• No significant correlations were observed between these measures in hearing aid users.

Conclusions:

• The findings highlight a potential disconnect between objective and subjective hearing assessments in hearing aid users.
• Self-report measures like the SSQ may offer complementary insights when used alongside behavioral tests to understand real-world listening difficulties.