The purpose of the current study is to measure oxygenation in the PFC using fNIRS in a sample of older adults with hearing loss. Participants will be instructed to listen to sentences in noise at a challenging signal-to-noise-ratio, and to repeat the word that they heard and rate how much subjective listening effort was required in order to make out the words. fNIRS will be measured throughout. Participants will complete the task using a hearing aid program intended for listening in quiet, and a hearing aid program with new advanced noise management features.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
26
Device for hearing loss compensation with digital noise management features
Device for hearing loss compensation for listening in quiet environments
Sonova Innovation Centre Toronto
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Oxygenation Using Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)
Infrared light scattered from the prefrontal cortex, which is indicative of concentration of oxygenated blood in that region. fNIRS in the prefrontal cortex is intended to index both motivation and listening effort.
Time frame: Session 1, 2, 3 and 4; assessed for up to 2 hours
Listening Accuracy
Speech understanding in noise percent correct scores
Time frame: Session 1, 2, 3 and 4; assessed for up to 2 hours
Subjective Listening Effort Rating
Participants rate how much listening effort was required in order to make out a sentence from 1-7, where lower scores mean less effort required.
Time frame: Session 1, 2, 3 and 4; assessed for up to 2 hours
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