fNIRS Assessment of Speech Comprehension in Children with Normal Hearing and Children with Hearing Aids in Virtual Acoustic Environments: Pilot Data and Practical Recommendations
The integration of virtual acoustic environments (VAEs) with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) offers novel avenues to investigate behavioral and neural processes of speech-in-noise (SIN) comprehension in complex auditory scenes. Particularly in children with hearing aids (HAs), the comb...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Children |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/11/219 |
| _version_ | 1797548615231602688 |
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| author | Laura Bell Z. Ellen Peng Florian Pausch Vanessa Reindl Christiane Neuschaefer-Rube Janina Fels Kerstin Konrad |
| author_facet | Laura Bell Z. Ellen Peng Florian Pausch Vanessa Reindl Christiane Neuschaefer-Rube Janina Fels Kerstin Konrad |
| author_sort | Laura Bell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The integration of virtual acoustic environments (VAEs) with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) offers novel avenues to investigate behavioral and neural processes of speech-in-noise (SIN) comprehension in complex auditory scenes. Particularly in children with hearing aids (HAs), the combined application might offer new insights into the neural mechanism of SIN perception in simulated real-life acoustic scenarios. Here, we present first pilot data from six children with normal hearing (NH) and three children with bilateral HAs to explore the potential applicability of this novel approach. Children with NH received a speech recognition benefit from low room reverberation and target-distractors’ spatial separation, particularly when the pitch of the target and the distractors was similar. On the neural level, the left inferior frontal gyrus appeared to support SIN comprehension during effortful listening. Children with HAs showed decreased SIN perception across conditions. The VAE-fNIRS approach is critically compared to traditional SIN assessments. Although the current study shows that feasibility still needs to be improved, the combined application potentially offers a promising tool to investigate novel research questions in simulated real-life listening. Future modified VAE-fNIRS applications are warranted to replicate the current findings and to validate its application in research and clinical settings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:02:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-70ae9aa960a145ff9b126c14433f87d6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9067 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:02:09Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Children |
| spelling | doaj.art-70ae9aa960a145ff9b126c14433f87d62023-11-20T20:06:49ZengMDPI AGChildren2227-90672020-11-0171121910.3390/children7110219fNIRS Assessment of Speech Comprehension in Children with Normal Hearing and Children with Hearing Aids in Virtual Acoustic Environments: Pilot Data and Practical RecommendationsLaura Bell0Z. Ellen Peng1Florian Pausch2Vanessa Reindl3Christiane Neuschaefer-Rube4Janina Fels5Kerstin Konrad6Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyTeaching and Research Area of Medical Acoustics, Institute of Technical Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyTeaching and Research Area of Medical Acoustics, Institute of Technical Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyChild Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyClinic of Phoniatrics, Pedaudiology, and Communication Disorders, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyTeaching and Research Area of Medical Acoustics, Institute of Technical Acoustics, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyChild Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, GermanyThe integration of virtual acoustic environments (VAEs) with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) offers novel avenues to investigate behavioral and neural processes of speech-in-noise (SIN) comprehension in complex auditory scenes. Particularly in children with hearing aids (HAs), the combined application might offer new insights into the neural mechanism of SIN perception in simulated real-life acoustic scenarios. Here, we present first pilot data from six children with normal hearing (NH) and three children with bilateral HAs to explore the potential applicability of this novel approach. Children with NH received a speech recognition benefit from low room reverberation and target-distractors’ spatial separation, particularly when the pitch of the target and the distractors was similar. On the neural level, the left inferior frontal gyrus appeared to support SIN comprehension during effortful listening. Children with HAs showed decreased SIN perception across conditions. The VAE-fNIRS approach is critically compared to traditional SIN assessments. Although the current study shows that feasibility still needs to be improved, the combined application potentially offers a promising tool to investigate novel research questions in simulated real-life listening. Future modified VAE-fNIRS applications are warranted to replicate the current findings and to validate its application in research and clinical settings.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/11/219functional near-infrared spectroscopyvirtual acousticsspeech perceptionmultimethod approachvirtual acoustic environments |
| spellingShingle | Laura Bell Z. Ellen Peng Florian Pausch Vanessa Reindl Christiane Neuschaefer-Rube Janina Fels Kerstin Konrad fNIRS Assessment of Speech Comprehension in Children with Normal Hearing and Children with Hearing Aids in Virtual Acoustic Environments: Pilot Data and Practical Recommendations Children functional near-infrared spectroscopy virtual acoustics speech perception multimethod approach virtual acoustic environments |
| title | fNIRS Assessment of Speech Comprehension in Children with Normal Hearing and Children with Hearing Aids in Virtual Acoustic Environments: Pilot Data and Practical Recommendations |
| title_full | fNIRS Assessment of Speech Comprehension in Children with Normal Hearing and Children with Hearing Aids in Virtual Acoustic Environments: Pilot Data and Practical Recommendations |
| title_fullStr | fNIRS Assessment of Speech Comprehension in Children with Normal Hearing and Children with Hearing Aids in Virtual Acoustic Environments: Pilot Data and Practical Recommendations |
| title_full_unstemmed | fNIRS Assessment of Speech Comprehension in Children with Normal Hearing and Children with Hearing Aids in Virtual Acoustic Environments: Pilot Data and Practical Recommendations |
| title_short | fNIRS Assessment of Speech Comprehension in Children with Normal Hearing and Children with Hearing Aids in Virtual Acoustic Environments: Pilot Data and Practical Recommendations |
| title_sort | fnirs assessment of speech comprehension in children with normal hearing and children with hearing aids in virtual acoustic environments pilot data and practical recommendations |
| topic | functional near-infrared spectroscopy virtual acoustics speech perception multimethod approach virtual acoustic environments |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/11/219 |
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