School of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada;Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, Canada.
School of Speech Pathology and Audiology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Canada;Research Centre of the Institut Universitaire de Gériatrie de Montréal, Montreal, Canada;School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
J Int Adv Otol. 2021 Mar;17(2):115-120. doi: 10.5152/JIAO.2021.8343.
To investigate whether the magnitude of the right-ear advantage (REA) for speech perception in noise decreased in aided conditions as compared with unaided conditions in older adults bilaterally fitted with hearing aids. A secondary aim was to determine the effect of audibility on the right- and left-ear processing for speech stimuli in both aided and unaided conditions.
Forty-two older adult, bilateral hearing-aid users were selected. Pure-tone audiometry and the hearing-in-noise test (HINT) were carried out and real-ear insertion gain (REIG) was measured in all participants. All HINT stimuli were delivered via loudspeakers in the free field in both aided and unaided conditions.
Right-ear scores for HINT were significantly better than the left ear in both unaided and aided conditions. No significant differences in the magnitude of the REA between the unaided HINT and aided HINT scores were found. Regression models showed that audibility explained 47% and 53% of the variance in unaided HINT scores in the right and left ears, respectively. For the aided HINT scores, age and audibility explained 46% of the variability for the left-ear scores, while for the right ear, the only remaining significant variable in the model was REIG, which explained 12% of the right-ear HINT scores.
Right-ear processing is significantly more efficient for speech stimuli in both unaided and aided conditions in older adults. Audibility affected unaided speech perception in right and left ears similarly however this was not the case in the aided condition. Audibility was associated with aided speech perception in noise in the left ear only.
研究双侧佩戴助听器的老年患者在助听条件下，言语感知的右耳优势（REA）与未助听条件相比是否减小。次要目的是确定在助听和未助听条件下，可听度对言语刺激的右耳和左耳处理的影响。
选择 42 名双侧助听器使用者的老年成人。所有参与者均进行纯音测听和噪声下的听力测试（HINT），并测量实际耳插入增益（REIG）。在助听和未助听条件下，所有 HINT 刺激均通过扬声器在自由场中传递。
在未助听和助听条件下，HINT 的右耳得分均明显优于左耳。未发现未助听 HINT 得分与助听 HINT 得分之间的 REA 幅度有显著差异。回归模型显示，可听度分别解释了未助听 HINT 得分右耳和左耳方差的 47%和 53%。对于助听 HINT 得分，年龄和可听度解释了左耳得分变异性的 46%，而对于右耳，模型中唯一剩余的显著变量是 REIG，它解释了右耳 HINT 得分的 12%。
在未助听和助听条件下，言语刺激的右耳处理对老年患者而言均更为有效。然而，在助听条件下，可听度对右耳和左耳的未助听言语感知的影响并不相同。可听度仅与左侧的助听噪声下言语感知相关。
