With advancing age, adults experience increasing speech understanding difficulties in challenging situations. Currently, speech-in-noise difficulties are rehabilitated by providing hearing aids. For older normal-hearing adults, however, hearing devices do not provide much benefit since these adults do not have decreased hearing sensitivity. The goal of the "Speech Perception and High Cognitive Demand" project is to evaluate the benefit of a new auditory-cognitive training paradigm. In the present study neural (as measured by pupillometry and magnetoencephalography) and behavioral changes of speech-in-noise perception from pretest to posttest will be examined in older adults (age 65 - 85 years) assigned to one of three training groups: 1) Active Control Group: sessions of watching informational videos, 2) Auditory Training Group: sessions of auditory training listening to one of two speakers in everyday scenarios (e.g., driving directions) and needing to recall what one speaker said in the previous sentence, and 3) Auditory-cognitive training group: identical to the auditory training group, except participants will be asked to remember information from two previous sentences. Changes in speech-in-noise perception will be examined for the three groups of older adults and gains will be compared to a control group of young, normal hearing adults (18-30 years) that is not part of the clinical trial and will not undergo any training.
Speech Intelligibility, Aging
With advancing age, adults experience increasing speech understanding difficulties in challenging situations. Currently, speech-in-noise difficulties are rehabilitated by providing hearing aids. For older normal-hearing adults, however, hearing devices do not provide much benefit since these adults do not have decreased hearing sensitivity. The goal of the "Speech Perception and High Cognitive Demand" project is to evaluate the benefit of a new auditory-cognitive training paradigm. In the present study neural (as measured by pupillometry and magnetoencephalography) and behavioral changes of speech-in-noise perception from pretest to posttest will be examined in older adults (age 65 - 85 years) assigned to one of three training groups: 1) Active Control Group: sessions of watching informational videos, 2) Auditory Training Group: sessions of auditory training listening to one of two speakers in everyday scenarios (e.g., driving directions) and needing to recall what one speaker said in the previous sentence, and 3) Auditory-cognitive training group: identical to the auditory training group, except participants will be asked to remember information from two previous sentences. Changes in speech-in-noise perception will be examined for the three groups of older adults and gains will be compared to a control group of young, normal hearing adults (18-30 years) that is not part of the clinical trial and will not undergo any training.
Speech Perception and High Cognitive Demand
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Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, College Park, Maryland, United States, 20742
Maryland Neuroimaging Center, College Park, Maryland, United States, 20742
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.
For general information about clinical research, read Learn About Studies.
65 Years to 85 Years
ALL
Yes
University of Maryland, College Park,
Samira B Anderson, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, University of Maryland, College Park
Jonathan Z Simon, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, University of Maryland, College Park
Stefanie E Kuchinsky, PhD, PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
2024-12-31