Acoustic- Versus Intelligibility-Based Assessment of Subjective Listening Difficulty Measured With the Repeat-Recall...

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech and Hearing Science
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Listening effort is a crucial factor in speech perception, especially for hearing aid users.
• Subjective listening effort ratings are often interpreted against normative references.
• The choice of reference can influence the interpretation of listening effort.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare interpretations of listening effort ratings using acoustic-based versus intelligibility-based normative references.
• To evaluate how different normative references affect the assessment of listening effort in hearing-impaired individuals.

Main Methods:

• Utilized existing data from 66 normal-hearing adults to establish intelligibility-based norms for listening effort.
• Analyzed data from 21 hearing-impaired listeners using both acoustic- and intelligibility-based norms.
• Measured listening effort in omnidirectional and directional microphone conditions.

Main Results:

• Acoustic-based norms showed reduced effort with directional microphones.
• Intelligibility-based references mitigated performance biases and improved rating consistency across microphone conditions.
• Intelligibility-based norms provided a more nuanced interpretation of subjective listening effort.

Conclusions:

• The selection of normative references is critical for interpreting listening effort in hearing-impaired individuals.
• Acoustic-based references are useful for assessing hearing aid technology benefits.
• Intelligibility-based references are better for identifying listeners with poor subjective experiences beyond objective intelligibility.