Listening effort and binaural-hearing benefits in bilateral cochlear-implant users

项目总结/摘要 双侧人工耳蜗植入（BI-CI）可改善言语理解和声音定位，但尚不清楚 两个耳朵是否为BI-CI收听者提供任何收听努力益处。长期目标是了解BIN- 听觉（双耳）的好处，听力受损的听众，使听力设备的设计不仅最大限度地提高 语音感知，而且还最小化听力努力，这是潜在重要感知维度。的 本建议的具体目标是评估BI-CI中言语理解和听力努力的变化 双耳任务的听众。中心假设是对称的耳朵可以改善双耳的益处，但不对称的耳朵可以改善双耳的益处。 标准的耳朵限制了这些好处。方法是将感知的行为测量与瞳孔测量相结合， 听力测试是一种客观的生理测量方法，尚未被用作理解听力的工具。 BI-CI收听器中两个声音输入的好处。理由是，考虑到倾听的努力和 语音感知一起可以给出真实世界听力的更完整的画面。双耳对语音的益处 感知和听力努力将探讨两个目标：1）以确定在何种程度上不对称 输入影响BI-CI和正常听力者在双耳分听中的感知和听力努力，以及2） 测量BI-CI在多大程度上提高了语音理解并减少了空间间隔的听力努力 说话的人。这项研究的贡献预计将是知识的好处双耳听力 与BI-CI听众的听力努力有关。这一贡献意义重大，因为它是理解的第一步 听力损失的听众，特别是在嘈杂的环境中，减少它在未来的努力。 这项建议是创新的，因为它使用了客观的生理技术-瞳孔测量-来测量 在CI听众的听力努力，并结合双耳听力和听力努力的专业知识，以检查广告， BI-CI听力的优势这个指导职业发展奖的PI是一个A.D. -博士博士后 马里兰大学帕克分校的研究员。PI将获得双耳听力方面的专业知识， 听力的努力，提高熟练的研究，CI听众和使用CI模拟，开发程序， 明技能设计听觉实验和模拟声音的位置，并学习先进的统计方法 在这个奖项下。其他培训活动包括统计方法课程、校园研讨会、正式的 培训撰写研究基金，并在专业会议上介绍研究成果。PI已经组装了一个椎间盘- 由PI感兴趣领域的专家组成的初级导师团队。这种指导和学员的强大 心理声学背景将准备PI达到长期目标，实现终身教职 定位和发展一个独立的，R 01资助的研究计划，作为一个临床科学家，专注于IM， 在嘈杂的环境中为听力损失的人提供听力。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Bilateral cochlear implants (BI-CIs) improve speech understanding and sound localization, but it is unknown whether two ears afford any listening effort benefits to BI-CI listeners. The long term goal is to understand bin- aural (two-ear) benefits in hearing-impaired listeners so that hearing devices are designed not only to maximize speech perception but also minimize listening effort, a dimension of perception that is potentially important. The specific objective of this proposal is to evaluate changes in speech understanding and listening effort in BI-CI listeners for binaural tasks. The central hypothesis is that symmetrical ears improve binaural benefits, but asym- metrical ears limit these benefits. The approach is to combine behavioral measures of perception with pupillom- etry, an objective and physiological measure of listening effort, which has yet to be used as a tool to understand the benefits of two sound inputs in BI-CI listeners. The rationale is that consideration of listening effort and speech perception together can give a more complete picture of real-world listening. Binaural benefits to speech perception and listening effort will be explored in two aims: 1) to determine the extent to which asymmetrical inputs affect perception and listening effort in dichotic listening in BI-CI and normal-hearing listeners and 2) to measure the extent to which BI-CIs improve speech understanding and reduce listening effort with spatial sep- aration of talkers. The contribution of this research is expected to be knowledge of the benefit of binaural hearing to listening effort in BI-CI listeners. This contribution is significant because it is a first step in understanding listening effort and reducing it in the future, particularly in noisy environments, for hearing-impaired listeners. This proposal is innovative because it uses an objective physiologic technique – pupillometry – to measure listening effort in CI listeners, and combines binaural hearing and listening effort expertise to examine the ad- vantages of BI-CI listening. The PI of this Mentored Career Development Award is an Au.D.-Ph.D. postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland-College Park. The PI will acquire expertise in binaural hearing and listening effort, increase proficiency in the study of CI listeners and the use of CI simulations, develop program- ming skills to design auditory experiments and simulate sound locations, and learn advanced statistical methods under this award. Other training activities include coursework in statistical methods, on-campus seminars, formal training in grant writing, and presenting research at professional meetings. The PI has assembled an interdisci- plinary team of mentors who are experts in the PI’s areas of interest. This mentorship and the mentee’s strong psychoacoustics background will prepare the PI to reach the long-term goals of attaining a tenure-track faculty position and developing an independent, R01-funded research program as a clinician-scientist, focused on im- proving the hearing of individuals with hearing loss in noisy environments.