Training-induced changes in the processing of sound in patients with sensorineural hearing loss and its impact on quality of life

训练引起的感音神经性听力损失患者声音处理的变化及其对生活质量的影响

• 批准号: 2267862
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Bangor University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2019 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2267862
• 关键词: Training; induced; changes; processing; sound

Context and rationale: Hearing loss affects over 10 million people in the UK, with older individuals being at greater risk. The negative effects of hearing loss are far reaching, and include social isolation, depression and increased risk of dementia. The social and economic costs are therefore significant.The most common cause of hearing loss in the UK is changes in the inner ear, known as presbyacusis, with the most commonly reported difficulty being conversations with others, particularly in background noise such as restaurants. This complaint has two components: first, levels of sound are reduced and second, individuals struggle differentiating between sounds spaced close together. The latter ability is known as temporal processing of sounds. Given the rapid transitions of speech, this skill is vital for understanding even the simple utterances but is essential in noisy envionments. Treatment options are primarily hearing aids which, despite technological advances, still have limitations in these environments.Recently, there have been encouraging reports of training individuals with hearing impairment on temporal processing tasks. However, to what extent this improvement transfers to speech perception improvements in the "real world", and thereby alleviates the negative social impact of hearing loss, remains unclear. We propose a training study on temporal processing with the following aims:(1) characterise the consequences of hearing impairment in a wider context beyond traditional pure-tone testing (e.g. by using speech in noise tests, detailed anatomical scans and quality of life measures).(2) examine the benefits of auditory training on the perception of speech and mental well-being.(3) predict who benefits from training based on the combination of test results before training and magnitude of improvement on these tests after training. Methodology: We will recruit participants with mild/moderate hearing loss (<60 years of age to minimise confounds from, e.g. cognitive decline). Participants (n=50) will be randomly assigned to one of two online training programmes for several weeks hosted by Posit Science (Brain Fitness). One group will take part in the auditory programme, consisting of a variety of enjoyable tasks aimed at improving temporal processing speeds, and another group will take part in a visual training programme, as an active control condition. This particular training programme is proposed as it has previously led to encouraging results and adherence to the programme can be followed online by the researcher. Participants will be assessed on a range of psychophysical and qualitative measures before and after training.

背景和理由：在英国，听力损失影响着1000多万人，年龄较大的人面临的风险更大。听力损失的负面影响是深远的，包括社会孤立、抑郁和痴呆症风险增加。因此，社会和经济代价是巨大的。在英国，听力损失的最常见原因是内耳的变化，也就是众所周知的老年性耳聋，最常见的报告是与他人交谈困难，特别是在餐馆等背景噪音中。这种抱怨有两个方面：第一，声音的级别降低，第二，个人很难区分距离很近的声音。后一种能力被称为声音的时间处理。考虑到语音的快速转换，这项技能对于理解简单的话语是至关重要的，但在嘈杂的环境中是必不可少的。治疗选择主要是助听器，尽管技术有所进步，但在这些环境中仍有局限性。最近，有令人鼓舞的报道称，训练听力障碍患者进行时间处理任务。然而，这种改善在多大程度上转化为“真实世界”中言语感知的改善，从而减轻听力损失的负面社会影响，目前还不清楚。我们提出了一项关于时间加工的训练研究，目的如下：(1)在传统纯音测试之外的更广泛的背景下表征听力障碍的后果(例如，通过在噪声测试中使用语音、详细的解剖扫描和生活质量测量)。(2)检查听觉训练对言语感知和心理健康的好处。(3)根据训练前的测试结果和训练后这些测试的改善幅度来预测谁从训练中受益。方法：我们将招募轻度/中度听力损失的参与者(&lt；60岁，以最大限度地减少认知衰退等方面的混淆)。参与者(n=50)将被随机分配到由Posit Science(大脑健身)主办的两个在线培训计划中的一个，为期几周。其中一组将参加听觉计划，包括各种旨在提高时间处理速度的愉快任务，另一组将参加视觉训练计划，作为主动控制条件。之所以提出这一特定的培训方案，是因为它以前产生了令人鼓舞的结果，研究人员可以在网上跟踪遵守该方案。在培训前后，将对参与者进行一系列心理、物理和质量评估。