[Effects of bone conduction device on speech recognition in noise and listening effort in patients with single-sided...

Objective:To evaluate listening effort（LE） and listening-related fatigue（LRF） in patients with single-sided deafness（SSD）, and to investigate the effect of bone conduction device（BCD） on speech recognition in noise and LE in these patients. Methods:A total of 32 SSD patients and 32 NH subjects were enrolled, and BCD intervention was administered to the SSD patients. The Chinese Translation of the Twelve-Item Version of the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale（C-SSQ12） and the Vanderbilt Fatigue Scale-Adult 10（VFS-A-10） were used to assess subjective auditory function and listening-related fatigue, and the correlation between these two parameters was analyzed. Speech recognition in noise tests were conducted for SSD patients under the SSSDN₀ condition, both in the unaided condition and after BCD intervention. The NASA Task Load Index（NASA-TLX） was used to evaluate changes in LE, and the correlation between NASA-TLX scores and speech recognition in noise test results was analyzed. Results:In the single-sided deafness（SSD） group, the scores of all dimensions of the C-SSQ12 were significantly lower than those in the NH group（P<0.05）; the total fatigue score and scores of physical fatigue, social fatigue, and cognitive fatigue in the VFS-A-10 were significantly higher than those in the NH group（P<0.01）. After BCD intervention, the speech recognition ability in noise of SSD patients was significantly improved（P<0.01）. In the NASA-TLX scale, the scores of mental demand, physical demand, time demand, effort, and frustration were all significantly reduced（P<0.01）, and the performance was significantly improved（P=0.03）. The improvement in speech recognition rate induced by BCD intervention showed a significant positive correlation with the improvement in subjective performance（P=0.01）. In SSD patients, listening-related fatigue exhibited a significant positive correlation with listening effort（LE）（P<0.05） and a significant negative correlation with subjective auditory quality（P<0.05）. Conclusion:SSD patients exhibit reduced subjective speech and spatial auditory abilities and increased daily listening-related fatigue. BCD intervention can effectively improve speech recognition in noise and reduce listening effort expenditure in SSD patients.