Stefan Launer

Purpose: This study empirically evaluated the impact of deep neural network (DNN)–based noise reduction in hearing aids on the categorical perception of Mandarin Tones 1 and 2 for hard of hearing (HH) listeners in cafeteria noise at 0 and −5 dB signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), compared to normal-hearing (NH) listeners and traditional hearing aid settings. Method: Twenty NH and 20 HH listeners participated in this study. HH listeners were fitted with commercial hearing aids in two modes: DNN noise reduction enabled (DNNon) and disabled (DNNoff; retaining directional microphone noise reduction technology). Stimuli consisted of a nine-step flat-to-rising tone continuum synthesized from the vowel /a/, presented in quiet and noise conditions. Listeners identified each stimulus as Tone 1 or 2. Linear mixed-effects models were conducted to analyze the effects of listener group, HA setting, and SNR on logistic functions of tone identification such as slopes and boundaries. Results: In quiet, HH listeners with hearing aids showed categorical perception comparable to NH listeners. In noise, tone identification slopes were steeper at 0 dB than −5 dB SNR across groups. HH listeners using HA without DNN processing (DNNoff) tended to yield shallower slopes compared to NH listeners, while with DNN processing enabled (DNNon), identification slopes remained similar to those of NH listeners. Among HH listeners, categorical identification declined progressively across conditions: quiet > DNNon_0dB > DNNon_−5dB > DNNoff_0dB > DNNoff_−5dB. Slopes of tone identification functions correlated negatively with age and pure-tone average, but only in DNNon conditions. Conclusions: DNN-based noise reduction effectively maintains the categorical identification of Mandarin tones for HH listeners. By facilitating perceptual segregation and demonstrating a “do no harm” characteristic, that is, suppressing cafeteria noise while preserving essential fundamental frequency contours, the DNN algorithm prevented the severe degradation of categoricality. These findings highlight DNN processing as a valuable tool that addresses the specific perceptual needs of tonal language users in real-world noisy settings.

Exploration of domains related to the emotional experiences of the patient and family will act to sensitize our clientele to the topic of emotion, and possibly address underlying motivations for their visit. At a minimum, the evidence suggests that conversations about the emotional impact of hearing loss will provide a better understanding of the patient’s and family’s disability experience, foster a stronger therapeutic alliance, and likely lead to more positive practice outcomes, such as greater treatment adherence, more open and honest communication with patients, and greater patient satisfaction.

Exploration of domains related to the emotional experiences of the patient and family will act to sensitize our clientele to the topic of emotion, and possibly address underlying motivations for their visit. At a minimum, the evidence suggests that conversations about the emotional impact of hearing loss will provide a better understanding of the patient’s and family’s disability experience, foster a stronger therapeutic alliance, and likely lead to more positive practice outcomes, such as greater treatment adherence, more open and honest communication with patients, and greater patient satisfaction.

Background/Objectives: Sensorineural hearing loss (HL) is a highly prevalent chronic health condition. It can be managed through hearing care, including the use of hearing aids (HAs). Still, a majority of individuals with HL remain undiagnosed or untreated. Virtual care delivery may support uptake and adherence to interventions. In blended care, individuals can choose interchangeably between in-person and virtual services. This study aimed to investigate how real-world individuals accessed blended hearing care (through in-person, virtual, or hybrid services), the amount of support they received, and their satisfaction with services and products. Methods: An exploratory, retrospective analysis was performed on longitudinal observational data collected through Australia’s longest-running blended hearing care model. A total of 25,058 appointment records were available, matched to HA purchase records and clinical notes where possible, as well as 916 satisfaction ratings. Results: The majority of individuals attended in-person appointments (75%); 25% were virtual or hybrid appointments. The number of appointments attended depended on how HAs were purchased (in-person, virtually, or hybrid), but all modalities were complemented by ample unscheduled email and telephone support. Of those who purchased HAs repeatedly, 49% changed preferred sales channel (in-person versus virtual) over time. Satisfaction ratings were highest for virtual services. Conclusions: This first report of real-world, longitudinal evidence on blended hearing care showed strong attendance of in-person appointments, while hybrid services—including informal; unscheduled support—may have responded to individuals’ changing needs and preferences over time. The findings offer practice-based evidence for blended care models and recommendations for further research.

Employing automated language analysis, specifically Meaning Extraction Method (MEM) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA), to identify key factors in open-text responses about hearing aid experiences. Exploratory, cross-sectional design, using an online questionnaire. Responses to a single open-ended question were analysed using MEM, PCA, regression, and correlation analyses. Participants (n = 538) included adult hearing aid users sampled from the Hearing Tracker website community and Lexie Hearing user databases in the United States. The MEM-derived items revealed six factors related to hearing aid experiences: (1) life change, (2) social situation, (3) quality of life, (4) impact and speech understanding, (5) communication and interaction, and (6) music and environmental sounds. IOI-HA item 3 had the most statistically significant correlations with PCA factors. Quantile regression revealed that factors one and two significantly predicted the IOI-HA total score. Positive correlations were observed between self-reported hearing difficulty and factors one, four, and five, as well as between factor one and general health and factor two and physical activity. Natural language analysis of open-ended textual responses can offer valuable insights into hearing aid users' experiences. Future studies should aim to refine this methodology to enhance clinical relevance and generalisability.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide a viewpoint on the recently published results showing the positive effect hearing intervention can have on mitigating the risk of cognitive decline in elderly individuals with hearing impairment. We intend to trigger a broader discussion on the implications of these results from an implementation science perspective. Methods: Recently published results were reviewed and contextualized. Results: In our view, these recent findings provide a great opportunity for hearing care professionals to change the perspective on hearing care being an essential service that contributes not only to managing challenges with audibility but to enabling healthy living and aging. Conclusion: As exciting as these findings are, from our perspective, they are also a call to action for the audiology field in terms of clinical implementation science. The findings guide us toward a more interprofessional approach in order to develop and test new, more holistic models of hearing care.

Objectives: The objectives of this research were to develop and evaluate a self-report questionnaire (the Emotional Communication in Hearing Questionnaire or EMO-CHeQ) designed to assess experiences of hearing and handicap when listening to signals that contain vocal emotion information. Design: Study 1 involved internet-based administration of a 42-item version of the EMO-CHeQ to 586 adult participants (243 with self-reported normal hearing [NH], 193 with self-reported hearing impairment but no reported use of hearing aids [HI], and 150 with self-reported hearing impairment and use of hearing aids [HA]). To better understand the factor structure of the EMO-CHeQ and eliminate redundant items, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted. Study 2 involved laboratory-based administration of a 16-item version of the EMO-CHeQ to 32 adult participants (12 normal hearing/near normal hearing (NH/nNH), 10 HI, and 10 HA). In addition, participants completed an emotion-identification task under audio and audiovisual conditions. Results: In study 1, the exploratory factor analysis yielded an interpretable solution with four factors emerging that explained a total of 66.3% of the variance in performance the EMO-CHeQ. Item deletion resulted in construction of the 16-item EMO-CHeQ. In study 1, both the HI and HA group reported greater vocal emotion communication handicap on the EMO-CHeQ than on the NH group, but differences in handicap were not observed between the HI and HA group. In study 2, the same pattern of reported handicap was observed in individuals with audiometrically verified hearing as was found in study 1. On the emotion-identification task, no group differences in performance were observed in the audiovisual condition, but group differences were observed in the audio alone condition. Although the HI and HA group exhibited similar emotion-identification performance, both groups performed worse than the NH/nNH group, thus suggesting the presence of behavioral deficits that parallel self-reported vocal emotion communication handicap. The EMO-CHeQ was significantly and strongly (r = −0.64) correlated with performance on the emotion-identification task for listeners with hearing impairment. Conclusions: The results from both studies suggest that the EMO-CHeQ appears to be a reliable and ecologically valid measure to rapidly assess experiences of hearing and handicap when listening to signals that contain vocal emotion information.

The question of how hearing loss and hearing rehabilitation affect patients' momentary emotional experiences is one that has received little attention but has considerable potential to affect patients' psychosocial function. This article is a product from the Hearing, Emotion, Amplification, Research, and Training workshop, which was convened to develop a consensus document describing research on emotion perception relevant for hearing research. This article outlines conceptual frameworks for the investigation of emotion in hearing research; available subjective, objective, neurophysiologic, and peripheral physiologic data acquisition research methods; the effects of age and hearing loss on emotion perception; potential rehabilitation strategies; priorities for future research; and implications for clinical audiologic rehabilitation. More broadly, this article aims to increase awareness about emotion perception research in audiology and to stimulate additional research on the topic.

Objectives: The objectives of this research were to develop and evaluate a self-report questionnaire (the Emotional Communication in Hearing Questionnaire or EMO-CHeQ) designed to assess experiences of hearing and handicap when listening to signals that contain vocal emotion information. Design: Study 1 involved internet-based administration of a 42-item version of the EMO-CHeQ to 586 adult participants (243 with self-reported normal hearing [NH], 193 with self-reported hearing impairment but no reported use of hearing aids [HI], and 150 with self-reported hearing impairment and use of hearing aids [HA]). To better understand the factor structure of the EMO-CHeQ and eliminate redundant items, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted. Study 2 involved laboratory-based administration of a 16-item version of the EMO-CHeQ to 32 adult participants (12 normal hearing/near normal hearing (NH/nNH), 10 HI, and 10 HA). In addition, participants completed an emotion-identification task under audio and audiovisual conditions. Results: In study 1, the exploratory factor analysis yielded an interpretable solution with four factors emerging that explained a total of 66.3% of the variance in performance the EMO-CHeQ. Item deletion resulted in construction of the 16-item EMO-CHeQ. In study 1, both the HI and HA group reported greater vocal emotion communication handicap on the EMO-CHeQ than on the NH group, but differences in handicap were not observed between the HI and HA group. In study 2, the same pattern of reported handicap was observed in individuals with audiometrically verified hearing as was found in study 1. On the emotion-identification task, no group differences in performance were observed in the audiovisual condition, but group differences were observed in the audio alone condition. Although the HI and HA group exhibited similar emotion-identification performance, both groups performed worse than the NH/nNH group, thus suggesting the presence of behavioral deficits that parallel self-reported vocal emotion communication handicap. The EMO-CHeQ was significantly and strongly (r = −0.64) correlated with performance on the emotion-identification task for listeners with hearing impairment. Conclusions: The results from both studies suggest that the EMO-CHeQ appears to be a reliable and ecologically valid measure to rapidly assess experiences of hearing and handicap when listening to signals that contain vocal emotion information.