Exam Preview

Listening Effort and EEG as Measures of Performance of Modern Hearing Aid Algorithms

---

1.  Listening effort is best described as Investment of resources to overcome an acoustic obstacle to understand speech Purely subjective experience without neural correlates Difficulties encountered when you do not understand everything A phenomenon caused by signal distortions due to wearing a hearing aid.

2.  How does listening effort differ from speech intelligibility? They don't differ, as the refer to the same construct Measures of listening effort can still reveal differences even when speech intelligibility is at 100% In contrast to listening effort speech intelligibility measures are not useful for negative SNRs because speech cannot be understood. Listening effort is only useful for negative SNRs and speech intelligibility for negative and positive SNRs.

3.  Alpha activity of the EEG : is the best possible performance one can achieve in a neurocognitive task is a frequency band corresponding to the typical range of speech frequencies, namely 1-4 kHz can be linked to listening effort and working memory demands and corresponds to the frequency range of 9 - 12 Hz refers to a frequency band rather than a distinct rhythm.

4.  The functional role of alpha activity in context of listening to speech in noise is assumed to be an inhibitory suppression of unwanted noise a measure of alertness an amplification of acoustic signals Passive indicator of fatigue

5.  The effect of the DuoPhone function designed to support speech perception during phone calls can be comparable to An increase in pitch by 8-12 Hz to improve speech understanding Headphones because no noise enters the ear or the auditory system An increase of SNR by 3 dB The binaural squelch of the auditory system.

6.  As a consequence of DuoPhone The speech signal is processed in both ears (binaurally) and hence double the amount of resources is recruited to achieve the same performance as with a monaural technology Working memory processing is more efficient than with an monaural technology because the same performance is achieved using fewer cognitive resources The speech signal is processed in both ears (binaurally) and hence double the amount of resources is recruited to achieve better working memory performance than with a monaural technology Participants report an unnatural telephone experience because the speech signal is transmitted into both ears even though the telephone is placed on one ear only

7.  The N1 is an event-related brain potential that: Is associated with sensory processing and Increases in amplitude when improving the SNR Is associated with cognitive processes such as working memory but not modified by signal properties And its peak latency is correlated with working memory capacity as indexed by d-prime None of the above

8.  Sensory processing affects cognitive functioning. This statement is false because these processes are located in different areas of the brain and are therefore completely independent of one another. This statement is true because difficulties in sensory processing can partially be compensated by cognitive processes and due to the limited resource hypothesis. This statement is false because other parts of the grey matter will re-wire. This statement is false in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

9.  The P3 is an ERP measure That has been linked to working memory processing and has a positive going peak Due to its early latency an index of an efferent brain response to a basic auditory signal Can be observed between 150 and 275 ms Cannot be measured in individuals with hearing aids

10.  Binaural hearing aid algorithms in hearing aids Can reduce the amount of noise entering the auditory system Can improve speech intelligibility Can reduce listening effort in noisy environments All of the above