Toward a clinically viable spectro-temporal modulation test for predicting supra-threshold speech reception in hearing-impaired listeners

Zaar, Johannes; Simonsen, Lisbeth Birkelund; Dau, Torsten; Laugesen, Søren

doi:10.1016/j.heares.2022.108650

Cited by 14 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…All stimuli were based on the Noisy-LP2co variant from Zaar et al (2023aZaar et al ( , 2023b, which consists of a pink-noise carrier signal in the band from 354 to 2000 Hz and an upward-moving STM with a temporal modulation rate of 4 Hz and a spectral modulation frequency of 2 c/o. The noise carrier was created as a sum of 2499 sinusoidal components with random starting phase, which were logarithmically distributed along the frequency axis in the considered band.…”

Section: Stimulation and Measurement Paradigmsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The target is a broadband noise carrier that is modulated both spectrally and temporally, thus creating spectral ripples that move up or down in frequency as a function of time, while the reference sound is the noise carrier without modulation. Different types of STM tests have been investigated with normal-hearing (NH) as well as HI individuals and were found to be promising, as several studies demonstrated that the STM detection thresholds predicted speechin-noise performance (Bernstein et al, 2016(Bernstein et al, , 2013Mehraei et al, 2014;Zaar et al, 2023aZaar et al, , 2023b. These studies revealed that the prediction of speech-in-noise performance is more robust when the STM detection thresholds are combined with speech-audibility prediction using the speech intelligibility index (ANSI S3.5, 1997;Bernstein et al, 2013;Mehraei et al, 2014) or with the pure-tone thresholds directly (Bernstein et al, 2016;Zaar et al, 2023b) and furthermore indicated a benefit when the STM stimuli are sufficiently audible (Zaar et al, 2023a(Zaar et al, , 2023b.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It should be noted that the mentioned studies applied high-precision research procedures that were neither optimized nor intended for clinical use. These psychoacoustic procedures were based either on a twoalternative forced-choice (2-AFC) task (Bernstein et al, 2016(Bernstein et al, , 2013Mehraei et al, 2014) or on a 3-AFC task (Zaar et al, 2023a(Zaar et al, , 2023b, in which the test participants listened to a sequence of two or three sounds, whereafter the task was to choose the sound that contained the modulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Study A: Developing a quick and simple clinical STM detection test Background Zaar et al (2023b) measured ecologically valid speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in a speechin-noise test setup with spatialized multi-talker interferers for 30 HI participants equipped with hearing aids. In addition, STM detection thresholds were obtained using a 3-AFC measurement paradigm for two different STM stimulus variants, which were selected based on a previous exploratory study (Zaar et al, 2023a). The "Noisy-LP2co" variant employing a bandlimited noise carrier (354-2000 Hz), a spectral modulation frequency of 2 cycles/octave (c/o), and a temporal modulation frequency of 4 Hz (with upward moving ripples) was selected for further development due to far superior test-retest reliability as compared to a stimulus with a complextone carrier ("Tonal2co").…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the STM detection threshold shows strong potential for clinical assessment of supra-threshold hearing deficits and potentially for prescription of hearing-aid signal processing. However, the measurement paradigm employed by Zaar et al (2023a, 2023b) was not optimized for clinical practice as it requires a computer interface and monitor for the test person to conduct the test and is rather time consuming (about 15 minutes).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Audible Contrast Threshold (ACT™) test: a clinical spectro-temporal modulation detection test

Zaar,

Simonsen,

Sanchez-Lopez

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Over the last decade, multiple studies have shown that hearing-impaired listeners’ speech-in-noise reception ability, measured with audibility compensation, is closely associated with performance in spectro-temporal modulation (STM) detection tests. STM tests thus have the potential to provide highly relevant beyond-the-audiogram information in the clinic, but the available STM tests have not been optimized for clinical use in terms of test duration, required equipment, and procedural standardization. The present study introduces a quick-and-simple clinically viable STM test, named the Audible Contrast Threshold (ACT) test. First, an experimenter-controlled STM measurement paradigm was developed, in which the patient is presented binaurally with a continuous audibility-corrected noise via headphones and asked to press a pushbutton whenever they hear an STM target sound in the noise. The patient’s threshold is established using a Hughson-Westlake tracking procedure with a three-out-of-five criterion and then refined by post-processing the collected data using a logistic function. Different stimulation paradigms were tested in 28 hearing-impaired participants and compared to data previously measured in the same participants with an established STM test paradigm. The best stimulation paradigm showed excellent test-retest reliability and good agreement with the established laboratory version. Second, the best stimulation paradigm with 1-second noise “waves” (windowed noise) was chosen, further optimized with respect to step size and logistic-function fitting, and tested in a population of 25 young normal-hearing participants using various types of transducers to obtain normative data. Based on these normative data, the “normalized Contrast Level” (in dB nCL) scale was defined, where 0±4 dB nCL corresponds to normal performance and the greater the positive value of dB nCL, the greater the audible contrast loss. Overall, the results of the present study indicate that the ACT test may be considered a reliable, quick-and-simple (and thus clinically viable) test of STM sensitivity. The ACT can be measured directly after the audiogram using the same set up, adding only a few minutes to the process.CITE AS1) In text: Zaar/Simonsen et al. (2023)2) In reference list: Zaar, J./Simonsen L. B., Sanchez-Lopez, R., and Laugesen, S. (2023): “The Audible Contrast Threshold (ACT™) test: a clinical spectro-temporal modulation detection test,” medRxiv.

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Section: Stimulation and Measurement Paradigmsmentioning

confidence: 99%