The Effect of Computer-Based Auditory Training on Speech-in-Noise Perception in Adults: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

To investigate the effectiveness of computer-based auditory training on speech-in-noise perception in adults. With no language restriction, 11 databases were searched from 1990 to 2020. We included any clinical trial studies with concurrent comparison groups that examined the effectiveness of computer-based auditory training programs in adults. The primary outcome was a speech in noise perception that was estimated using the "difference pretest-posttest-control" index (dppc2). The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane collaboration tool for assessing the risk of bias in randomized trials. The certainty of the evidence was investigated using the GRADE in two primary outcomes. Twenty three studies were included in two subgroups based on primary outcome: 12 studies with speech perception threshold and 11 studies with speech-in-noise test scores. Computer-based auditory training resulted in a speech in noise perception improvement (dppc2: -0.69, 95%CI: -1.11 to -0.26; I2 = 69.6%, p = 0.00) and (dppc2: 0.71, 95%CI: 0.38-1.03, I2: 17.8%, p = 0.27) respectively in both subgroups. 19 studies were judged to have a high risk of bias and 3 studies had a low risk of bias and the strength of the evidence was low in both primary outcomes. This finding indicates that computer-based auditory training can be a moderately effective intervention for speech-in-noise perception in adults. However, due to the low quality of primary studies and the low certainty of the evidence, the results are not yet definite. Prospero registration number: CRD42021233193. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-023-03920-0.

The Effect of Combined Auditory Training on Concurrent Sound Segregation in Young old: A Single-Blinded Randomized Clinical Trial.

This study aimed to investigate the behavioral results of perceptual learning in young old using double-vowel discrimination tasks in combined auditory training programs. In a single-blind randomized clinical trial, 35 participants were randomly divided into three groups and received different auditory training programs for six sessions using the software. To compare the double-vowel discrimination score, CV in noise test, and reaction time to the first and second vowels pre- and post-intervention, an analysis of variance was conducted. The discrimination score in the double vowel task and CV in noise test improved after training with no significant difference between the groups. After auditory training, the lowest RT1 was observed in the first intervention group, whereas RT2 decreased only in the second intervention. The present study showed that combined auditory training programs are as effective as conventional auditory training programs in improving speech perception in the elderly. Modifications in the sensory cortex could be investigated using electrophysiological recordings, but this was not conducted because of the pandemic. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-023-03923-x.

Regularity of background auditory scene and selective attention: A brain oscillatory study.

There are scarce data related to the facilitative effects of regularity encoding on auditory selective attention during every day listening conditions. Therefore, present study aimed to investigate how temporal and spectral regularities of background auditory stream affect auditory selective attention at both levels of brain neural oscillatory activities and involved cortical locations. EEG was recorded in healthy young adults listening to two concurrent auditory streams including background and foreground ones in three conditions differing for background auditory stream which was characterized by having spectral or temporal sound regularities and random structure. The neural sources of EEG bands during recognizing target sounds in the foreground stream were determined via standardized Low-Resolution brain Electromagnetic Tomography (sLORETA). Sound regularities of the background auditory stream had no significant effect on the EEG relative power during the task of selective attention. In all conditions, there was a significant increase in the relative power of EEG alpha and beta frequency bands. sLORETA localized significant increase of mentioned bands in the precuneus of parietal lobe; medial frontal gyrus of frontal lobe and insula of sub-lobar in temporal regularity, spectral regularity and random conditions respectively. These results revealed that although temporal and spectral acoustic regularities of competitor auditory stream had no facilitative effect on alpha-related brain processing during selective attention, different brain cortical locations were activated with the introduction of these regularities. This result might provide preliminary evidence for some degree of brain neural specialization in the processing of temporal and spectral regularities during auditory selective attention tasks.

Testing A Hypothesis: Tinnitus Control by Enhancing Physiological Inhibition.

Background: Deficit in cognitive functions and central executive function is one of the popular hypotheses on the underlying cause of tinnitus. Some studies expressed the effect of tinnitus on the inhibitory cognitive tasks, referring to the slower inhibitory results such as in the Stroop task in the people suffering from tinnitus as compared to normal subjects. Since Stroop engages the network overlapping the attention and tinnitus distress networks, it seems likely that Stroop exercises can effectively contribute to controlling the tinnitus and its consequent distress through improvement of the cognitive function and increasing the physiological inhibition. Method: A total of 25 patients with chronic tinnitus (> 6 months) were randomly divided into two groups: an intervention group of 15 patients and a control group of 10 patients. Both groups were subjected to initial evaluations including pure tone audiometry, psychoacoustic measurements, tinnitus handicap inventory (THI) survey, and visual analogue scale (VAS) of annoyance and loudness. The intervention group underwent a rehabilitation program consisting of 6 Stroop training sessions. The control group didn't receive any training. Afterwards, both groups were reevaluated and the results were compared to those of initial evaluations. Results: Results of this study indicated significant differences in THI scores and VAS of annoyance, before and after Stroop training in the intervention group, although no significant difference was observed when it came to VAS of loudness. Conclusion: Successive sessions of conflict processing training can improve the annoyance of tinnitus by enhancing the patient's inhibition control, making this task a safe practice for tinnitus treatment.

Differential effects of gender on mismatch negativity to violations of simple and pattern acoustic regularities.

INTRODUCTION: The effects of gender on the mismatch negativity (MMN) potential have been studied using simple frequency deviants. However, the effects of gender on MMN to violations of abstract regularities have not yet been studied. Here, we addressed this issue and compared the effects of gender on simple and pattern frequency MMNs. METHODS: MMN response was recorded from 29 healthy young adults, 14 females (mean age = 26.20 ± 2.17) and 15 males (mean age = 27.57 ± 2.24), using 32 scalp electrodes during simple and pattern frequency oddball paradigms and the mean amplitude, peak latency, and scalp topography of MMN evoked by each paradigm were compared between the two genders. RESULTS: The peak latency of simple MMN was significantly longer in females (p < .05); however, its mean amplitude and topography were similar between the two genders (p > .05). There were no significant differences in peak latency, mean amplitude, and scalp topography of pattern MMN between the two genders (p > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the obtained results, gender differently affects simple and pattern MMN. These findings may provide preliminary evidence for distinct effects of gender on various types of MMN.

Topographic comparison of MMN to simple versus pattern regularity violations: The effect of timing.

Mismatch negativity (MMN) is generated by sounds violating a regular sequence of events including simple regularities related to repetition of acoustic features (e.g. a tone frequency) as well as abstract regularities hidden in stimuli relationships (e.g. a pattern of frequency change). The aim of present study was to investigate whether time interval between the sound events, being either shorter or longer than temporal window of integration (TWI), affects the dissociated processing of simple versus pattern regularities along the auditory deviance detection system. MMN was recorded in healthy young adults during simple and pattern frequency oddball paradigms, using two different SOAs of 180 and 270ms, and the MMN topographic distribution was compared using global dissimilarity index (DISS). There was a significant difference between simple and pattern MMN topographies using an SOA of 270ms (DISS=0.8349, p<0.05) but no significant difference was found with an SOA of 180ms (DISS=0.2516, p=0.84). These results indicate that timing can modulate the dissociation between the cortical areas involved in simple and pattern regularity encoding so that at SOAs shorter than TWI, the processing of these regularities share more similar neural circuits compared to the long SOAs.

Dichotic assessment of verbal memory function: development and validation of the Persian version of Dichotic Verbal Memory Test.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Dichotic Verbal Memory Test (DVMT) is useful in detecting verbal memory deficits and differences in memory function between the brain hemispheres. The purpose of this study was to prepare the Persian version of DVMT, to obtain its results in 18- to 25-yr-old Iranian individuals, and to examine the ear, gender, and serial position effect. RESEARCH DESIGN: The Persian version of DVMT consisted of 18 10-word lists. After preparing the 18 lists, content validity was assessed by a panel of eight experts and the equivalency of the lists was evaluated. Then the words were recorded on CD in a dichotic mode such that 10 words were presented to one ear, with the same words reversed simultaneously presented to the other ear. Thereafter, it was performed on a sample of young, normal, Iranian individuals. STUDY SAMPLE: Thirty normal individuals (no history of neurological, ontological, or psychological diseases) with ages ranging from 18 to 25 yr were examined for evaluating the equivalency of the lists, and 110 subjects within the same age range participated in the final stage of the study to obtain the normative data on the developed test. RESULTS: There was no significant difference between the mean scores of the 18 developed lists (p > 0.05). The mean content validity index (CVI) score was .96. A significant difference was found between the mean score of the two ears (p < 0.05) and between female and male participants (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The Persian version of DVMT has good content validity and can be used for verbal memory assessment in Iranian young adults.