Enhancing Speech Perception in Noise Through Home-Based Competing Talker Training

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Cognitive Science
• Gerontology

Background:

• Hearing impairment, particularly difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, significantly impacts quality of life for older adults.
• Effective interventions are needed to improve speech perception and reduce listening-related cognitive load.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a competing talker training paradigm (2TT-Flemish) in older adults with speech-in-noise problems.
• To assess on-task learning and transfer of training to untrained tasks, including speech perception, analytical skills, and cognitive functions.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 60 participants (aged 54-84) with three groups: immediate training, delayed training, and active control.
• Training involved 4 weeks of competing talker training (2TT-Flemish), with outcome measures assessed over 12 weeks.
• Measures included speech perception in noise, analytical tasks, inhibitory control, a listening-posture dual task, and self-reported benefits.

Main Results:

• Participants showed on-task improvements during training, with generalization to speech-in-noise perception persisting post-training.
• No transfer was observed for analytical tasks or inhibitory control.
• Competing talker training reduced dual-task costs in postural control, indicating freed cognitive resources for concurrent tasks and improved knowledge about hearing.

Conclusions:

• Competing talker training (2TT-Flemish) effectively improves speech-in-noise perception in older adults.
• The training enhances cognitive resource allocation, benefiting performance in multitask settings.
• While not improving analytical skills, the training offers practical benefits for daily communication and cognitive function.