Delphi Maryam, Lotfi Yones, Moossavi Abdollah, Bakhshi Enayatollah, Banimostafa Maryam
Department of Audiology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran & Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz ,Iran.
Department of Audiology, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2017 Jul 3;31:36. doi: 10.14196/mjiri.31.36. eCollection 2017.
Many elderly individuals complain of difficulty in understanding speech in noise despite having normal hearing thresholds. According to previous studies, auditory training leads to improvement in speech-in-noise perception, but these studies did not consider the etiology, so their results cannot be generalized. The present study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of envelopebased interaural time difference (ITD ENV) localization training on improving ITD threshold and speech-in-noise perception. Thirty-two elderly males aged 55 to 65 years with clinically diagnosed normal hearing at 250-2000 Hertz, who suffered from speech-in-noise perception difficulty participated in this study. These individuals were randomly divided into training and control groups: 16 elderlies in the experimental group received envelope-based interaural time difference localization training in 9 sessions, but 16 matched elderlies in the control group did not receive any training. The ITD ENV threshold and spatial word recognition score (WRS) in noise were analyzed before and after the localization training. Findings demonstrated that following the training program, the interaural time difference envelope threshold and spatial word recognition score (WRS) in noise were improved significantly in the experimental group (p≤ 0.001). Moreover, a significant difference was detected in interaural time difference envelope threshold and spatial word recognition score (WRS) in noise (p≤ 0.001) before and after the training in the experimental group. The results of the present study revealed the effectiveness of envelope- based interaural time difference localization training in localization ability and speech in noise perception in the elderlies with normal hearing up to 2000 Hz who suffered from speech-in-noise perception difficulty.
许多老年人抱怨说，尽管听力阈值正常，但在嘈杂环境中理解言语仍有困难。根据以往的研究，听觉训练可改善噪声中的言语感知，但这些研究未考虑病因，因此其结果无法推广。本研究旨在探讨基于包络的耳间时间差（ITD ENV）定位训练对改善ITD阈值和噪声中言语感知的有效性。32名年龄在55至65岁之间、临床诊断为250 - 2000赫兹听力正常但存在噪声中言语感知困难的老年男性参与了本研究。这些个体被随机分为训练组和对照组：实验组的16名老年人接受了9次基于包络的耳间时间差定位训练，而对照组的16名匹配的老年人未接受任何训练。在定位训练前后分析了ITD ENV阈值和噪声中的空间单词识别分数（WRS）。结果表明，经过训练后实验组的耳间时间差包络阈值和噪声中的空间单词识别分数（WRS）显著提高（p≤0.001）。此外，实验组训练前后在耳间时间差包络阈值和噪声中的空间单词识别分数（WRS）方面检测到显著差异（p≤0.001）。本研究结果揭示了基于包络的耳间时间差定位训练对听力正常至2000 Hz且存在噪声中言语感知困难的老年人在定位能力和噪声中言语感知方面的有效性。
