Auditory training can improve working memory, attention, and communication in adverse conditions for adults with hearing loss

Melanie A Ferguson, Helen Henshaw, Melanie A Ferguson, Helen Henshaw

Abstract

Auditory training (AT) helps compensate for degradation in the auditory signal. A series of three high-quality training studies are discussed, which include, (i) a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of phoneme discrimination in quiet that trained adults with mild hearing loss (n = 44), (ii) a repeated measures study that trained phoneme discrimination in noise in hearing aid (HA) users (n = 30), and (iii) a double-blind RCT that directly trained working memory (WM) in HA users (n = 57). AT resulted in generalized improvements in measures of self-reported hearing, competing speech, and complex cognitive tasks that all index executive functions. This suggests that for AT related benefits, the development of complex cognitive skills may be more important than the refinement of sensory processing. Furthermore, outcome measures should be sensitive to the functional benefits of AT. For WM training, lack of far-transfer to untrained outcomes suggests no generalized benefits to real-world listening abilities. We propose that combined auditory-cognitive training approaches, where cognitive enhancement is embedded within auditory tasks, are most likely to offer generalized benefits to the real-world listening abilities of adults with hearing loss.

Keywords: attention; auditory training; communication; executive function; hearing aids; hearing loss; speech perception; working memory.

References

    1. Akeroyd M. A. (2008). Are individual differences in speech reception related to individual differences in cognitive ability? A survey of twenty experimental studies with normal and hearing-impaired adults. Int. J. Audiol. 47 S53–S71. 10.1080/14992020802301142
    1. Amitay S., Irwin A., Moore D. R. (2006). Discrimination learning induced by training with identical stimuli. Nat. Neurosci. 9 1446–1448. 10.1038/nn1787
    1. Anderson S., White-Schwoch T., Choi H. J., Kraus N. (2013a). Training changes processing of speech cues in older adults with hearing loss. Front. Syst. Neurosci. 7:97 10.3389/fnsys.2013.00097
    1. Anderson S., White-Schwoch T., Parbery-Clark A., Kraus N. (2013b). Reversal of age-related neural timing delays with training. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 110 4357–4362.
    1. Arlinger S., Gatehouse S., Bentler R., Byrne D., Cox R., Dirks D., et al. (1996). Report of the eriksholm workshop on auditory deprivation and acclimatization. Ear Hear. 17(Suppl. 3) 87S–98S. 10.1097/00003446-199617031-00009
    1. Brehmer Y., Westerberg H., Backman L. (2012). Working-memory training in younger and older adults: training gains, transfer, and maintenance. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 6:63 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00063
    1. Burk M. H., Humes L. E., Amos N. E., Strauser L. E. (2006). Effect of training on word-recognition performance in noise for young normal-hearing and older hearing-impaired listeners. Ear Hear. 27 263–278. 10.1097/01.aud.0000215980.21158.a2
    1. Chan R. C. K., Shum D., Toulopoulou T., Chen E. Y. H. (2008). Assessment of executive functions: review of instruments and identification of critical issues. Arch. Clin. Neuropsychol. 23 201–216. 10.1016/j.acn.2007.08.010
    1. Cohen J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, 2nd Edn. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Earlbaum Associates.
    1. de Boer J., Thornton A. R. D. (2008). Neural correlates of perceptual learning in the auditory brainstem: efferent activity predicts and reflects improvement at a speech-in-noise discrimination task. J. Neurosci. 28 4929–4937. 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0902-08.2008
    1. Dunning D. L., Holmes J. (2014). Does working memory training promote the use of strategies on untrained working memory tasks? Mem. Cognit. 42 854–862.
    1. Ferguson M. A., Henshaw H. Computer and internet interventions to optimise listening and learning for people with hearing loss: accessibility, use and adherence. Am. J. Audiol. (in press).
    1. Ferguson M. A., Henshaw H., Clark D., Moore D. (2014). Benefits of phoneme discrimination training in a randomized controlled trial of 50–74 year olds with mild hearing loss. Ear Hear. 35 e110–e121. 10.1097/AUD.0000000000000020
    1. Foo C., Rudner M., Ronnberg J., Lunner T. (2007). Recognition of speech in noise with new hearing instrument compression release settings requires explicit cognitive storage and processing capacity. J. Am. Acad. Audiol. 18 618–631. 10.3766/jaaa.18.7.8
    1. Fu Q. J., Galvin J., Wang X., Nogaki G. (2004). Effects of auditory training on adult cochlear implant patients: a preliminary report. Cochlear Implants Int. 5 84–90. 10.1179/cim.2004.5.Supplement-1.84
    1. Gatehouse S. (1999). Glasgow hearing aid benefit profile: derivation and validation of client-centred outcome measures for hearing aid services. J. Am. Acad. Audiol. 10 80–103.
    1. Gatehouse S., Naylor G., Elberling C. (2003). Benefits from hearing aids in relation to the interaction between the user and the environment. Int. J. Audiol. 42 S77–S85. 10.3109/14992020309074627
    1. Gatehouse S., Noble W. (2004). The Speech, Spatial and Qualities of Hearing Scale (SSQ). Int. J. Audiol. 43 85–99. 10.1080/14992020400050014
    1. Gordon-Salant S. (2014). “Aging, hearing loss, and speech recognition: stop shouting, i can’t understand you,” in Perspectives on Auditory Research, eds Popper A. N., Fay R. R. (New York, NY: Springer; ), 211–228.
    1. Hazan V., Messaoud-Galusi S., Rosen S., Nouwens S., Shakespeare B. (2009). Speech perception abilities of adults with dyslexia: is there any evidence for a true deficit? J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res. 52 1510–1529. 10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0220)
    1. Heinrich A., Henshaw H., Ferguson M. A. (2015). The relationship of speech intelligibility with hearing sensitivity, cognition, and perceived hearing difficulties varies for different speech perception tests. Front. Psychol. 6:782 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00782
    1. Henshaw H., Ferguson M. A. (2013a). Efficacy of individual computer-based auditory training for people with hearing loss: a systematic review of the evidence. PLoS ONE 8:e62836 10.1371/journal.pone.0062836
    1. Henshaw H., Ferguson M. A. (2013b). Working memory training for adult hearing aid users: study protocol for a double-blind randomized active controlled trial. Trials 14:417.
    1. Henshaw H., Ferguson M. A. (2014). “Assessing the benefits of auditory training to real-world listening: identifying appropriate and sensitive outcomes,” in Proceedings of ISAAR 2013: Auditory Plasticity – Listening with the Brain. 4th symposium on Auditory and Audiological Research, eds Dau T., Santurette S., Dalsgaard J. C., Trangjaerg L., Andersen T., Poulsen T. (Nyborg: The Danavox Jubilee Foundation; ).
    1. Hopkins K., Moore B. C. (2011). The effects of age and cochlear hearing loss on temporal fine structure sensitivity, frequency selectivity, and speech reception in noise. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 130 334–349. 10.1121/1.3585848
    1. Howard C. S., Munro K. J., Plack C. J. (2010). Listening effort at signal-to-noise ratios that are typical of the school classroom. Int. J. Audiol. 49 928–932. 10.3109/14992027.2010.520036
    1. Humes L. E., Dubno J. R. (2010). “Factors affecting speech understanding in older adults,” in The Aging Auditory System, eds Gordon-Salant S., Frisna R. D., Popper A. N., Fay R. R. (New York, NY: Springer; ), 211–257.
    1. Humes L. E., Kidd G. R., Lentz J. J. (2013). Auditory and cognitive factors underlying individual differences in aided speech-understanding among older adults. Front. Syst. Neurosci. 7:55 10.3389/fnsys.2013.00055
    1. Johnson E. E., Dillon H. (2011). A comparison of gain for adults from generic hearing aid prescriptive methods: impacts on predicted loudness, frequency bandwidth, and speech intelligibility. J. Am. Acad. Audiol. 22 441–459. 10.3766/jaaa.22.7.5
    1. Kiessling J., Pichora-Fuller M. K., Gatehouse S., Stephens D., Arlinger S., Chisolm T., et al. (2003). Candidature for and delivery of audiological services: special needs of older people. Int. J. Audiol. 42 S92–S101. 10.3109/14992020309074650
    1. Kochkin S. (2010). MarkeTrak VIII: consumer satisfaction with hearing aids is slowly increasing. Hear. J. 63 19–20. 10.1097/01.HJ.0000366912.40173.76
    1. Kronenberger W. G., Pisoni D. B., Henning S. C., Colson B. G., Hazzard L. M. (2011). Working memory training for children with cochlear implants: a pilot study. J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res. 54 1182–1196. 10.1044/1092-4388(2010/10-0119)
    1. Lunner T. (2003). Cognitive function in relation to hearing aid use. Int. J. Audiol. 42 S49–S58. 10.3109/14992020309074624
    1. Lunner T., Sundewall-Thorén E. (2007). Interactions between cognition, compression, and listening conditions: effects on speech-in-noise performance in a two-channel hearing aid. J. Am. Acad. Audiol. 18 604–617. 10.3766/jaaa.18.7.7
    1. Mcarthur G. (2007). Test–retest effects in treatment studies of reading disability: the devil is in the detail. Dyslexia 13 240–252. 10.1002/dys.355
    1. Melby-Lervag M., Hulme C. (2013). Is working memory training effctive? A meta- analytic review. Dev. Psychol. 49 270–291. 10.1037/a0028228
    1. Millward K., Moore D. R., Sohoglu E., Amitay S. (2011). Training speech-in-noise perception in mainstream school children. Int. J. Pediatr. Otorhinolaryngol. 75 1408–1417. 10.1016/j.ijporl.2011.08.003
    1. Moore D. R., Edmondson-Jones M., Dawes P., Fortnum H., Mccormack A., Pierzycki R. H., et al. (2014). Relation between speech-in-noise threshold, hearing loss and cognition from 40–69 years of age. PLoS ONE 9:e107720 10.1371/journal.pone.0107720
    1. Ng E. H., Classon E., Larsby B., Arlinger S., Lunner T., Rudner M., et al. (2014). Dynamic relation between working memory capacity and speech recognition in noise during the first 6 months of hearing aid use. Trends Hear. 18 2331216514558688 10.1177/2331216514558688
    1. Oba S. I., Fu Q., Galvin J. J. (2011). Digit training in noise can improve cochlear implant users’ speech understanding in noise. Ear Hear. 32 573–581. 10.1097/AUD.0b013e31820fc821
    1. Perkins D. N., Salomon G. (1992). “Transfer of learning,” in International Encyclopedia of Education, 2nd Edn eds Husén T., Postlethwaite T. (Oxford: Pergamon Press; ).
    1. Pichora-Fuller M. K., Levitt H. (2012). Speech comprehension training and auditory and cognitive processing in older adults. Am. J. Audiol. 21 351–357. 10.1044/1059-0889(2012/12-0025)
    1. Pichora-Fuller M. K., Singh G. (2006). Effects of age on auditory and cognitive processing: implications for hearing aid fitting and audiologic rehabilitation. Trends Amplif. 10 29–59. 10.1177/108471380601000103
    1. Robertson I. H., Ward T., Ridgeway V., Nimmo-Smith I. (1996). The structure of normal human attention: The Test of Everyday Attention. J. Int. Neuropsychol. Soc. 2 525–534. 10.1017/S1355617700001697
    1. Ronnberg J., Lunner T., Zekveld A., Sorqvist P., Danielsson H., Lyxell B., et al. (2013). The Ease of Language Understanding (ELU) model: theoretical, empirical, and clinical advances. Front. Syst. Neurosci. 7:31 10.3389/fnsys.2013.00031
    1. Rudner M., Rönnberg J., Lunner T. (2011). Working memory supports listening in noise for persons with hearing impairment. J. Am. Acad. Audiol. 22 156–167. 10.3766/jaaa.22.3.4
    1. Sarampalis A., Kalluri S., Edwards B., Hafter E. (2009). Objective measures of listening effort: effects of background noise and noise reduction. J. Speech Lang. Hear. Res. 52 1230–1240. 10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0111)
    1. Schow R., Nerbonne M. (2006). Introduction to Audiologic Rehabilitation. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
    1. Shinn-Cunningham B. G. (2008). Object-based auditory and visual attention. Trends Cogn. Sci. 12 182–186. 10.1016/j.tics.2008.02.003
    1. Shinn-Cunningham B. G., Best V. (2008). Selective attention in normal and impaired hearing. Trends Amplif. 12 283–299. 10.1177/1084713808325306
    1. Smith G. E., Housen P., Yaffe K., Ruff R., Kennison R. F., Mahncke H. W., et al. (2009). A cognitive training program based on principles of brain plasticity: results from the Improvement in Memory with Plasticity-based Adaptive Cognitive Training (IMPACT) study. J. Am. Geriatr. Soc. 57 594–603. 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.02167.x
    1. Smits C., Kapteyn T. S., Houtgast T. (2004). Development and validation of an automatic speech-in-noise screening test by telephone. Int. J. Audiol. 43 15–28. 10.1080/14992020400050004
    1. Song J. H., Skoe E., Banai K., Kraus N. (2011). Training to improve hearing speech in noise: biological mechanisms. Cereb. Cortex 22 1180–1190. 10.1093/cercor/bhr196
    1. Stacey P. C., Raine C. H., O’donoghue G. M., Tapper L., Twomey T., Summerfield A. Q. (2010). Effectiveness of computer-based auditory training for adult users of cochlear implants. Int. J. Audiol. 49 347–356. 10.3109/14992020903397838
    1. Stecker G. C., Bowman G. A., Yund E. W., Herron T. J., Roup C. M., Woods D. L. (2006). Perceptual training improves syllable identification in new and experienced hearing aid users. J. Rehabil. Res. Dev. 43 537–551. 10.1682/JRRD.2005.11.0171
    1. Sweetow R. W., Sabes J. H. (2006). The need for and development of an Adaptive Listening and Communication Enhancement (LACE) Program. J. Am. Acad. Audiol. 17 538–558. 10.3766/jaaa.17.8.2
    1. Thompson T. W., Waskom M. L., Garel K. A., Cardenas-Iniguez C., Reynolds G. O., Winter R., et al. (2013). Failure of working memory training to enhance cognition or intelligence. PLoS ONE 8:e63614 10.1371/journal.pone.0063614
    1. Tremblay K. (2007). Training-related changes in the brain: evidence from human auditory-evoked potentials. Semin. Hear. 28 120–132. 10.1055/s-2007-973438
    1. Tyler R. S., Witt S. A., Dunn C. C., Wang W. (2010). Initial development of a spatially separated speech-in-noise and localization training program. J. Am. Acad. Audiol. 21 390–403. 10.3766/jaaa.21.6.4
    1. Vermiglio A. J., Soli S. D., Freed D. J., Fisher L. M. (2012). The relationship between high-frequency pure-tone hearing loss, hearing in noise test (HINT) thresholds, and the articulation index. J. Am. Acad. Audiol. 23 779–788. 10.3766/jaaa.23.10.4
    1. Wechsler D. (1997). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, 3rd Edn. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.
    1. Wright B. A., Zhang Y. (2009). A review of the generalization of auditory learning. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 364 301–311. 10.1098/rstb.2008.0262

Source: PubMed

Sponsor e collaboratori

Condizioni mediche

Interventi farmacologici

3
Sottoscrivi