ERIC Number: EJ1086129
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015-Dec
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1092-4388
EISSN: N/A
Comparison of Psychophysiological and Dual-Task Measures of Listening Effort
Seeman, Scott; Sims, Rebecca
Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, v58 n6 p1781-1792 Dec 2015
Purpose: We wished to make a comparison of psychophysiological measures of listening effort with subjective and dual-task measures of listening effort for a diotic-dichotic-digits and a sentences-in-noise task. Method: Three groups of young adults (18-38 years old) with normal hearing participated in three experiments: two psychophysiological studies for two different listening tasks and a dual-task measure for a sentences-in-noise task. Psychophysiological variables included skin conductance, heart-rate variability, and heart rate; the dual-task measure was a letter-identification task. Heart-rate variability was quantified with the difference from baseline for the normalized standard deviation of "R" to "R." Results: Heart-rate variability differences from baseline were greater for increased task complexity and for poorer signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). The dual-task measure of listening effort also increased for sentences presented at a +5 dB SNR compared with a +15 dB SNR. Skin conductance was elevated for greater task complexity only, and similar across noise conditions. None of these measures were significantly correlated with subjective measures of listening effort. Conclusions: Heart-rate variability appears to be a robust psychophysiological indicator of listening effort, sensitive to both task complexity and SNR. This sensitivity to SNR was similar to a dual-task measure of listening effort.
Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Measures (Individuals), Listening, Psychophysiology, Young Adults, Metabolism, Sentences, Acoustics, Correlation
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel: 800-638-8255; Fax: 301-571-0457; e-mail: subscribe@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A