Relationship Between Envelope Difference Index and Benefits offered by Digital Noise Reduction Algorithm in Younger and Older Adults with Moderate Sensorineural Hearing Loss
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Abstract
Background and Aim: To investigate if the effectiveness of digital noise reduction (DNR) in improving speech recognition scores and reducing listening effort in younger and older adults with moderate sensorineural hearing loss is associated with envelope distortion caused by the DNR algorithm used in hearing aids.
Methods: Participants included 17 younger adults (18-45 years) and 20 older adults (51-70 years) with flat moderate sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). The benefit of a modulation-based DNR algorithm was assessed using sentences (0° azimuth) presented in speech noise (180° azimuth) at +4 dB SNR. The Envelope Difference Index was calculated using the algorithm, and correlations between DNR benefits and envelope distortion were analysed.
Results: DNR enhanced speech-in-noise recognition scores for younger adults, but it did not have the same effect for older adults. Listening effort, measured by final-word recall scores, improved significantly in both younger and older adults in the DNR group. However, there was no significant difference in EDI between the groups. No correlation was found between the magnitude of the envelope difference index and DNR benefits on speech recognition and listening effort in younger and older adults.
Conclusions: Digital noise reduction improved speech recognition in noise for younger adults but not older adults with moderate hearing loss, though both groups showed reduced listening effort, with benefits unrelated to signal envelope distortion.
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27. Hornsby BW. The effects of hearing aid use on listening effort and mental fatigue associated with sustained speech processing demands. Ear Hear. 2013;34(5):523-34. [DOI:10.1097/AUD.0b013e31828003d8]
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30. Kates JM. Limitations of the Envelope Difference Index as a Metric for Nonlinear Distortion in Hearing Aids. Ear Hear. 2020;41(2):356-61. [DOI:10.1097/AUD.0000000000000768]
2. Parthasarathy A, Hancock KE, Bennett K, DeGruttola V, Polley DB. Bottom-up and top-down neural signatures of disordered multi-talker speech perception in adults with normal hearing. Elife. 2020;9:e51419. [DOI:10.7554/eLife.51419]
3. Zekveld AA, Kramer SE, Festen JM. Cognitive load during speech perception in noise: the influence of age, hearing loss, and cognition on the pupil response. Ear Hear. 2011;32(4):498-510. [DOI:10.1097/AUD.0b013e31820512bb]
4. Başkent D, Clarke J, Pals C, Benard MR, Bhargava P, Saija J, et al. Cognitive Compensation of Speech Perception With Hearing Impairment, Cochlear Implants, and Aging: How and to What Degree Can It Be Achieved? Trends Hear. 2016;20:1-16. [DOI:10.1177/2331216516670279]
5. Helfer KS, Wilber LA. Hearing loss, aging, and speech perception in reverberation and noise. J Speech Hear Res. 1990;33(1):149-55. [DOI:10.1044/jshr.3301.149]
6. Brodie A, Smith B, Ray J. The impact of rehabilitation on quality of life after hearing loss: a systematic review. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2018;275(10):2435-40. [DOI:10.1007/s00405-018-5100-7]
7. Kumar LMS. Measuring listening effort using physiological, behavioral and subjective methods in normal hearing subjects: Effect of signal to noise ratio and presentation level. [Dissertation]. Harrisonburg: James Madison University; 2020.
8. Kuk F, Peeters H, Lau C, Korhonen P. Effect of maximum power output and noise reduction on speech recognition in noise. J Am Acad Audiol. 2011;22(5):265-73. [DOI:10.3766/jaaa.22.5.3]
9. Dawes P, Emsley R, Cruickshanks KJ, Moore DR, Fortnum H, Edmondson-Jones M, et al. Hearing loss and cognition: the role of hearing AIDS, social isolation and depression. PLoS One. 2015;10(3):e0119616. [DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0119616]
10. Neher T, Grimm G, Hohmann V, Kollmeier B. Do hearing loss and cognitive function modulate benefit from different binaural noise-reduction settings? Ear Hear. 2014;35(3):e52-62. [DOI:10.1097/AUD.0000000000000003]
11. Chinnaraj G, Shetty HN, Palaniyappan V. Effect of Digital Noise Reduction And Directionality Algorithms in Hearing Aids on Temporal Envelope Distortion and Speech Recognition. J Hear Sci. 2021;11(4):19-29. [DOI:10.17430/JHS.2021.11.4.2]
12. Kim G, Loizou PC. Gain-induced speech distortions and the absence of intelligibility benefit with existing noise-reduction algorithms. J Acoust Soc Am. 2011;130(3):1581-96. [DOI:10.1121/1.3619790]
13. Fukawa T, Jin'no K. Noise Reduction Method Focusing on Spectral Envelopment and Fine Structure of Speech. J Signal Process Syst. 2021;25(6):233-7. [DOI:10.2299/jsp.25.233]
14. Souza P, Hoover E, Gallun F. Application of the envelope difference index to spectrally sparse speech. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2012;55(3):824-37. [DOI:10.1044/1092-4388(2011/10-0301)]
15. Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR. "Mini-mental state". A practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res. 1975;12(3):189-98. [DOI:10.1016/0022-3956(75)90026-6]
16. Mueller HG, Weber J, Hornsby BW. The effects of digital noise reduction on the acceptance of background noise. Trends Amplif. 2006;10(2):83-93. [DOI:10.1177/1084713806289553]
17. Geetha C, Kumar KSS, Manjula P, Pavan M. Development and Standardisation of the Sentence Identification Test in the Kannada Language. J Hear Sci 2014;4(1):18-26. [DOI:10.17430/890267]
18. Pichora-Fuller MK, Schneider BA, Daneman M. How young and old adults listen to and remember speech in noise. J Acoust Soc Am. 1995;97(1):593-608. [DOI:10.1121/1.412282]
19. Fortune TW, Woodruff BD, Preves DA. A new technique for quantifying temporal envelope contrasts. Ear Hear. 1994;15(1):93-9. [DOI:10.1097/00003446-199402000-00011]
20. Wu YH, Stangl E, Chipara O, Hasan SS, DeVries S, Oleson J. Efficacy and Effectiveness of Advanced Hearing Aid Directional and Noise Reduction Technologies for Older Adults With Mild to Moderate Hearing Loss. Ear Hear. 2019;40(4):805-22. [DOI:10.1097/AUD.0000000000000672]
21. Brons I, Houben R, Dreschler WA. Acoustical and Perceptual Comparison of Noise Reduction and Compression in Hearing Aids. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2015;58(4):1363-76. [DOI:10.1044/2015_JSLHR-H-14-0347]
22. Peeters H, Kuk F, Lau CC, Keenan D. Subjective and objective evaluation of noise management algorithms. J Am Acad Audiol. 2009;20(2):89-98. [DOI:10.3766/jaaa.20.2.2]
23. Lawrence BJ, Jayakody DMP, Henshaw H, Ferguson MA, Eikelboom RH, Loftus AM, et al. Auditory and Cognitive Training for Cognition in Adults With Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Trends Hear. 2018;22:2331216518792096. [DOI:10.1177/2331216518792096]
24. Rönnberg J, Lunner T, Zekveld A, Sörqvist P, Danielsson H, Lyxell B, et al. The Ease of Language Understanding (ELU) model: theoretical, empirical, and clinical advances. Front Syst Neurosci. 2013;7:31. [DOI:10.3389/fnsys.2013.00031]
25. Rudner M. Cognitive Spare Capacity as an Index of Listening Effort. Ear Hear. 2016;37 Suppl 1:69S-76S. [DOI:10.1097/AUD.0000000000000302]
26. Sarampalis A, Kalluri S, Edwards B, Hafter E. Objective measures of listening effort: effects of background noise and noise reduction. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2009;52(5):1230-40. [DOI:10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0111)]
27. Hornsby BW. The effects of hearing aid use on listening effort and mental fatigue associated with sustained speech processing demands. Ear Hear. 2013;34(5):523-34. [DOI:10.1097/AUD.0b013e31828003d8]
28. Zekveld AA, Koelewijn T, Kramer SE. The Pupil Dilation Response to Auditory Stimuli: Current State of Knowledge. Trends Hear. 2018;22:2331216518777174. [DOI:10.1177/2331216518777174]
29. Arehart K, Souza P, Kates J, Lunner T, Pedersen MS. Relationship Among Signal Fidelity, Hearing Loss, and Working Memory for Digital Noise Suppression. Ear Hear. 2015;36(5):505-16. [DOI:10.1097/AUD.0000000000000173]
30. Kates JM. Limitations of the Envelope Difference Index as a Metric for Nonlinear Distortion in Hearing Aids. Ear Hear. 2020;41(2):356-61. [DOI:10.1097/AUD.0000000000000768]
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| Digital noise reduction Listening effort Envelope distortion speech in noise perception Ageing | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Shetty H, Vijayasarathy S. Relationship Between Envelope Difference Index and Benefits offered by Digital Noise Reduction Algorithm in Younger and Older Adults with Moderate Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Aud Vestib Res. 2026;.
