Speech-in-noise perception ability can be related to auditory efferent pathway function: a comparative study in reading impaired and normal reading children / Capacidade de percepção da fala no ruído pode estar relacionada à função da via auditiva eferente: estudo comparativo de crianças com dificuldade de leitura e com leitura normal

Abstract Introduction: Deficient auditory processing can cause problems with speech perception and affect the development and evolution of reading skills. The efferent auditory pathway has an important role in normal auditory system functions like speech-in-noise perception, but there is still no general agreement on this. Objective: To study the performance of the efferent auditory system in a group of children with reading impairment in comparison with normal reading and evaluation of its relationship with speech-in-noise perception. Methods: A total of 53 children between the ages of 8-12 years were selected for the study of which 27 were with reading impairment and 26 were normal reading children. Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions suppression and auditory recognition of words-in-noise test were performed for all the children. Results: The average amplitude of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions suppression showed a significant difference between the two groups in the right (p = 0.004) and in the left ear (p = 0.028). Assessment of the relationship between transient evoked otoacoustic emissions suppression and monaural auditory recognition of words-in-noise scores showed a significant moderate negative relationship only in the right ear (p = 0.034, r = −0.41) of the normal reading children. Binaural auditory recognition of words-in-noise scores were significantly correlated with the amplitude of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions suppression in the right ear (p < 0.001, r = −0.75) and in the left ear (p < 0.001, r = −0.64) of normal reading children. In the reading impaired group, ?a weaker correlation was observed between binaural auditory recognition of words-in-noise scores and transient evoked otoacoustic emissions suppression in the right (p = 0.003, r = −0.55) and in the left ear (p = 0.012, r = −0.47). Conclusions: Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions suppression pattern in the reading impaired group was different compared with normal reading children, and this difference could be related to efferent system performance. Words-in-noise scores in children with impaired reading were lower than in normal reading children. In addition, a relationship was found between transient evoked otoacoustic emissions suppression and words-in-noise scores in both normal and impaired reading children.

Resumo Introdução: O processamento auditivo deficiente pode causar problemas na percepção da fala e afetar o desenvolvimento e a evolução das habilidades de leitura. A via auditiva eferente tem um papel importante nas funções do sistema auditivo normal, como a percepção da fala no ruído, mas ainda não há um consenso sobre isso. Objetivo: Estudar o desempenho do sistema auditivo eferente em um grupo de crianças com dificuldade de leitura em comparação às com leitura normal e avaliação de sua relação com a percepção da fala no ruído. Método: Foram selecionadas para o estudo 53 crianças entre oito e 12 anos, das quais 27 tinham dificuldade de leitura e 26 apresentavam leitura normal. A avaliação por emissões otoacústicas evocadas transientes e o teste auditory recognition of words-in-noise foram feitos em todas as crianças. Resultados: A amplitude média da supressão das emissões otoacústicas evocadas transientes mostrou diferença significante entre os dois grupos na orelha direita (p = 0,004) e esquerda (p = 0,028). A avaliação da relação entre a supressão das emissões otoacústicas evocadas transientes e os escores monoaurais do teste auditory recognition of words-in-noise mostrou uma relação negativa moderadamente significante apenas na orelha direita (p = 0,034, r = -0,41) das crianças com leitura normal. Os escores binaurais do auditory recognition of words-in-noise foram significantemente correlacionados com a amplitude de supressão das emissões otoacústicas evocadas transientes na orelha direita (p < 0,001, r = -0,75) e na orelha esquerda (p < 0,001, r = -0,64) das crianças com leitura normal. No grupo com dificuldade de leitura, uma correlação mais fraca foi observada entre os escores binaurais do auditory recognition of words-in-noise e supressão das emissões otoacústicas evocadas transientes, na orelha direita (p = 0,003, r = -0,55) e na esquerda (p = 0,012, r = -0,47). Conclusões: O padrão de supressão das emissões otoacústicas evocadas transientes no grupo com dificuldade de leitura foi diferente em comparação com as crianças com leitura normal e essa diferença pode estar relacionada ao desempenho do sistema eferente. Os escores de palavras no ruído em crianças com dificuldade de leitura foram menores do que nas crianças com leitura normal. Além disso, foi encontrada uma relação entre a supressão das emissões otoacústicas evocadas transientes e os escores de palavras no ruído tanto em crianças com leitura normal quanto nas com dificuldade de leitura.

Effects of Age on Speech-in-Noise Identification: Subjective Ratings of Hearing Difficulties and Encoding of Fundamental Frequency in Older Adults

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Numerous studies have indicated deterioration of speech perception in noisy conditions among the elderly even those with normal hearing capabilities. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of age on the speech-in-noise identification by speech-in-noise (SIN) test, subjective ratings of hearing difficulties by speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing scale (SSQ) questionnaire and encoding of fundamental frequency (F0) by Speech auditory brainstem response (ABR) in the elderly and comparing the results with young people. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The present study was conducted on 32 elderly people aged over 60 years old (17 male and 15 female) with the mean age of 68.9 (standard deviation=6.33) possessing normal peripheral hearing and 32 young subjects (16 male and 16 female) aged 18-25 years old. RESULTS: Findings showed that the score of SIN test is lower among the elderly people as compared with young people in signal-to-noise ratios of 0 and -10 based on Iranian version of SSQ questionnaire (p < 0.001). The range of F0 amplitude in the elderly people is also lower than young people (p < 0.001) in Speech ABR. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that speech processing in older people is deteriorated comparing with young people regardless of their normal peripheral auditory thresholds. This decrease will result in weaker perception and improper segregation of speech from other competing sources.

Association between Frontal-Executive Dysfunction and Speech-in-Noise Perception Deficits in Mild Cognitive Impairment

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Speech-in-noise perception deficits have been demonstrated in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, it remains unclear whether the impairment of speech perception varies between MCI subtypes. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to compare speech perception performance among MCI subgroups, and 2) to identify the cognitive domains specifically related to speech-in-noise perception. METHODS: We studied 46 patients with MCI and 39 hearing-threshold-matched cognitively normal elderly (CNE) subjects. Two different patient classifications were used: 1) patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) (n=21) or nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment (naMCI) (n=25), and 2) patients with frontal-executive dysfunction (FED) (n=16) or without FED (n=30). All of the subjects underwent audiometric, neuropsychological, and speech perception assessments. Speech-in-noise perception was measured using sentence recognition tests in the presence of two types of background noise at four levels. RESULTS: First, as the level of background noise increased, the MCI with FED group scored lower than both the MCI without FED and CNE groups under both types of noise. Second, both the naMCI and aMCI groups scored lower than the CNE group, but there were no differences between the naMCI and aMCI groups in sentence recognition under any noise conditions. Third, significant correlations were found between sentence recognition and executive function scores both in the MCI groups and in the CNE group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that frontal-executive function is strongly related to speech-in-noise perception and that MCI patients with FED have greater deficits in speech-in-noise perception compared to other subgroups of MCI.