High-Frequency Hearing Loss and Early Aging Effects on Auditory Temporal Coding

高频听力损失和早期衰老对听觉时间编码的影响

• 批准号: 8266939
• 负责人: Elizabeth D. Leigh
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: JAMES H QUILLEN VA MEDICAL CENTER
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/8266939
• 关键词: Accounting; Acoustics; Address; Adult; Affect; Age; Aging; Audiology; Audiometry; Auditory; Auditory Evoked Potentials; Auditory system; Basic Science; Behavioral; Clinic; Clinical; Code; Complex; Computer software; Detection; Development; Devices; Diagnostic; Discrimination; Electrophysiology (science); Equipment; Experimental Designs; FarGo; Florida; Frequencies; General Population; Goals; Hearing; Hearing Aids; High-Frequency Hearing Loss; Home environment; Impairment; Individual; Instruction; Knowledge; Laboratories; Literature; Masks; Measurement; Measures; Mentors; Methods; Noise; Participant; Patients; Perception; Performance; Physiological; Play; Process; Psychophysics; Recovery; Recruitment Activity; Rehabilitation therapy; Reporting; Research; Research Personnel; Sensorineural Hearing Loss; Series; Short-Term Memory; Signal Transduction; Speech; Speech Perception; Stimulus; Techniques; Technology; Testing; Time; Training; Translating; United States; Universities; Veterans; Wisconsin; age effect; age related; aged; base; body system; experience; hearing impairment; improved; insight; male; men; middle age; public health relevance; relating to nervous system; research study; response; signal processing; skills; speech processing; young adult

DESCRIPTION: Temporal coding is the ability of the auditory system to detect and transmit fluctuations in time across the acoustic signal. Sensorineural hearing loss and early aging have the potential to reduce the temporal resolving power of the auditory system. The relevant literature, however, shows mixed results from psychophysical studies, speech perception studies, and physiologic studies. The lack of a clear understanding of how hearing loss changes temporal processing (or not) may be the result of several factors including early age-related changes in neural recovery or adaptation and methodological issues (e.g., equivalent presentation levels, stimulus complexity). A series of experiments to measure temporal processing in middle-aged adults with and without high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (abbreviated as HFL throughout proposal) is proposed. This understudied group has been largely overlooked in the study of auditory aging because most older subjects have some degree of high-frequency hearing loss and research is often conducted in low-frequency regions where pure-tone thresholds are similar to those of younger subjects. Presenescent changes have been found for speech perception (Helfer and Fargo, 2009) and for auditory temporal coding (Grose et al., 2006). Significantly poorer gap detection occurs for stimuli presented in regions of normal pure-tone sensitivity when high-frequency hearing loss is present. The proposed research will improve our understanding of early aging and HFL on auditory temporal coding. The purpose of the primary study is to determine the extent to which early aging and HFL impact temporal coding in regions of normal low-frequency hearing. The current study addresses these purposes with the following three specific questions: (1) Is there a significant difference in low-frequency temporal coding between listeners with normal pure-tone sensitivity and listeners with HFL? (2) Is there a significant difference in temporal coding between young subjects (aged 18 - 30 years) and middle-aged subjects (aged 40 - 60 years) who have normal pure-tone sensitivity? and (3) Are psychophysical or electrophysiologic measures of temporal coding related? Four groups of subjects will be targeted for a series of experiments as follows: (1) young adults with normal pure-tone sensitivity (YNH), (2) middle-aged adults with normal pure-tone sensitivity (MANH), (3) young adults with HFL (YHFL), and (4) middle-aged adults with HFL (MAHFL). Normal hearing will be defined as pure-tone thresholds d25 dB HL for the frequencies from 250- to 8000 Hz. High-frequency hearing will be defined as pure-tone thresholds d25 dB HL from 250 - 2000 Hz and e 35 dB HL from 3000 - 8000 Hz. Participants will be recruited from the Audiology Clinic at the VA at Mountain Home. One short-term objective is to acquire a high-level of technical understanding of signal processing and experimental design as well as insight into parallel experimental designs in multiple domains (e.g., clinical audiology, psychophysics, and electrophysiology). The new skills will provide a bridge between my basic research skills acquired to date and advanced skills necessary to transition into an independent VA investigator. A second short-term goal is to acquire the experience needed to analyze cortical auditory evoked potentials, which inherently are complex. Thus, the focus will be practical and theoretical integration by leveraging the expertise of the CDA-2 mentors (Drs. Murnane, Eddins, and Fowler). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE High-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (HFL) affects up to 93% of males in the United States aged 60-69 years and 57% of men aged 40-49 years. Veterans with hearing loss typically have more noise exposure and are older than the general population; these circumstances both contribute to HFL. Between 2008 and 2009 compensable claims for impaired hearing grew 12.4%, which was more than any other body system impairment and middle-aged adults (35-54 years) accounted for 30% of those Veterans (Annual Benefits Report FY2009, p. 9-10). Currently, it is not understood in what way early aging and HFL contribute to reduced temporal processing and speech understanding. The knowledge gained by this research will provide direct benefit to Veterans suffering from HFL by better rehabilitative strategies (e.g., auditory training) or devices (e.g., processors for hearing aids).

描述： 时间编码是听觉系统检测和传输声音信号中时间波动的能力。感音神经性听力损失和早衰有可能降低听觉系统的时间分辨能力。然而，相关文献显示了心理物理学研究、言语感知研究和生理学研究的好坏参半的结果。对听力损失如何改变（或不改变）时间处理缺乏清晰的了解可能是多种因素造成的，包括早期年龄相关的神经恢复或适应变化以及方法问题（例如，等效的呈现水平、刺激复杂性）。提出了一系列实验来测量有或没有高频感音神经性听力损失（在整个提案中缩写为 HFL）的中年人的时间处理。这一未被充分研究的群体在听觉衰老研究中很大程度上被忽视，因为大多数老年受试者都有一定程度的高频听力损失，而研究通常在低频区域进行，其中纯音阈值与年轻受试者相似。语音感知（Helfer 和 Fargo，2009）和听觉时间编码（Grose 等，2006）已发现衰老变化。当存在高频听力损失时，对于正常纯音灵敏度区域中出现的刺激，间隙检测会明显较差。拟议的研究将提高我们对早期衰老和听觉时间编码的 HFL 的理解。主要研究的目的是确定早期衰老和 HFL 对正常低频听力区域的时间编码的影响程度。当前的研究通过以下三个具体问题来解决这些目的：（1）具有正常纯音灵敏度的听众和具有HFL的听众之间的低频时间编码是否存在显着差异？ （2）纯音敏感度正常的年轻受试者（18-30岁）和中年受试者（40-60岁）的时间编码是否存在显着差异？ (3) 时间编码的心理物理学或电生理学测量是否相关？将针对四组受试者进行一系列实验，如下：（1）纯音敏感度正常的年轻人（YNH），（2）纯音敏感度正常的中年人（MANH），（3）患有HFL的年轻人（YHFL）和（4）患有HFL的中年人（MAHFL）。正常听力将被定义为 250 至 8000 Hz 频率的纯音阈值 d25 dB HL。高频听力将被定义为纯音阈值 d25 dB HL（从 250 - 2000 Hz）和 e 35 dB HL（从 3000 - 8000 Hz）。参与者将从位于 Mountain Home 的 VA 听力学诊所招募。一个短期目标是获得对信号处理和实验设计的高水平技术理解，以及对多个领域（例如临床听力学、心理物理学和电生理学）的并行实验设计的深入了解。新技能将为我迄今为止获得的基本研究技能和过渡为独立 VA 调查员所需的高级技能之间架起一座桥梁。第二个短期目标是获得分析皮质听觉诱发电位所需的经验，这本质上是复杂的。因此，重点将是通过利用 CDA-2 导师（Murnane、Eddins 和 Fowler 博士）的专业知识来实现​​实践和理论的整合。 公共卫生相关性 高频感音神经性听力损失 (HFL) 影响美国 93% 的 60-69 岁男性和 57% 的 40-49 岁男性。患有听力损失的退伍军人通常比一般人群接触更多的噪音，而且年龄更大；这些情况都会导致 HFL。 2008 年至 2009 年间，听力受损的可赔偿索赔增长了 12.4%，增幅超过任何其他身体系统损伤，其中中年人（35-54 岁）占退伍军人的 30%（2009 财年年度福利报告，第 9-10 页）。目前，尚不清楚早期衰老和 HFL 以何种方式导致时间处理和言语理解能力下降。这项研究获得的知识将通过更好的康复策略（例如听觉训练）或设备（例如助听器处理器）为患有 HFL 的退伍军人提供直接益处。