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Choi I, Gander PE, Berger JI, Woo J, Choy MH, Hong J, Colby S, McMurray B, Griffiths TD. Spectral Grouping of Electrically Encoded Sound Predicts Speech-in-Noise Performance in Cochlear Implantees. J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 2023; 24:607-617. [PMID: 38062284 PMCID: PMC10752853 DOI: 10.1007/s10162-023-00918-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Cochlear implant (CI) users exhibit large variability in understanding speech in noise. Past work in CI users found that spectral and temporal resolution correlates with speech-in-noise ability, but a large portion of variance remains unexplained. Recent work on normal-hearing listeners showed that the ability to group temporally and spectrally coherent tones in a complex auditory scene predicts speech-in-noise ability independently of the audiogram, highlighting a central mechanism for auditory scene analysis that contributes to speech-in-noise. The current study examined whether the auditory grouping ability also contributes to speech-in-noise understanding in CI users. DESIGN Forty-seven post-lingually deafened CI users were tested with psychophysical measures of spectral and temporal resolution, a stochastic figure-ground task that depends on the detection of a figure by grouping multiple fixed frequency elements against a random background, and a sentence-in-noise measure. Multiple linear regression was used to predict sentence-in-noise performance from the other tasks. RESULTS No co-linearity was found between any predictor variables. All three predictors (spectral and temporal resolution plus the figure-ground task) exhibited significant contribution in the multiple linear regression model, indicating that the auditory grouping ability in a complex auditory scene explains a further proportion of variance in CI users' speech-in-noise performance that was not explained by spectral and temporal resolution. CONCLUSION Measures of cross-frequency grouping reflect an auditory cognitive mechanism that determines speech-in-noise understanding independently of cochlear function. Such measures are easily implemented clinically as predictors of CI success and suggest potential strategies for rehabilitation based on training with non-speech stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inyong Choi
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, 250 Hawkins Dr., Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
| | - Phillip E Gander
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
- Department of Radiology, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Joel I Berger
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Jihwan Woo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Ulsan, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Matthew H Choy
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Jean Hong
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Sarah Colby
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Bob McMurray
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, 250 Hawkins Dr., Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
| | - Timothy D Griffiths
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
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