This study is currently not recruiting participants.

Effects of Aging on Behavioral Measures of Listening Effort

Speech Recognition in Different Listening Conditions

Not Recruiting
18 years - 100 years
All
1 Location

Brief description of study.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how people recognize speech under a variety of listening conditions, and to investigate relations between scores on cognitive and memory tasks and perception of speech in adverse listening conditions.

Detailed description of study

For this study, you will identify and/or recall words and phrases presented to you in backgrounf noise.

Approx. 3-4 Sessions lasting up to 2 hours each on the Bloomington Campus

Participants will be compensated for their participation.

Eligibility of study

You may be eligible for this study if you meet the following criteria:

  • Conditions: Hard of hearing, Healthy
  • Age: 18 years - 100 years
  • Gender: All

Inclusion Criteria

Participants will have normal hearing as measured by audiologic evaluation after obtaining consent.

This experiment include two experimental groups: Young normal hearing (YNH) and Older normal hearing (ONH). 

Inclusion criteria will be the same for both groups EXCEPT for age;

YNH participants will be between age 18-25 (inclusive) and ONH participants will be age 50 or older.

Participants will be native speakers of American English and will pass a screening for dementia

Exclusion Criteria

Participants will be excluded if a conductive hearing loss is evident, if there is suspected retrocochlear pathology in either ear, or if hearing thresholds are asymmetric by more than 15 dB at two or more frequencies.

Participants will not be invited to participate if their age does not fall within the age ranges listed under inclusion criteria.

Participants will be excluded if scores on the dementia screening (Mini-Mental State Exam) are 25 or lower. 

Potential participants will be excluded if they have a history of neurological disorder, or any cognitive, medical, or language-based condition which may limit his/her ability to complete all test procedures, constant tinnitus, or are non-native speakers of English.

Other exlusionary criteria include current use of Cisplatin for cancer treatment or Life-saving Mycin antibiotics.

This study investigates how people recognize speech in various listening conditions and examines the relationship between cognitive and memory task performance and speech perception in challenging environments. Participants will be asked to identify or recall words and phrases presented with background noise.

During the study, participants will undergo several tasks where they will listen to speech and background noise. They may also complete cognitive and memory tasks to assess their perception and understanding. Complex terms like cognitive tasks refer to activities designed to measure thinking abilities, while audiologic evaluation refers to hearing tests.

  • Who can participate: Participants must have normal hearing and be native speakers of American English. They should be aged 18-25 or 50 and older, with a required dementia screening.
  • Study details: Participants will listen to words and phrases in background noise and complete related tasks. A placebo is not used.
  • Study Visits: The study requires 3 visits.
Updated on 19 Feb 2024. Study ID: 1812740943

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