TY - JOUR
T1 - Normative data for a rapid, automated test of spatial release from masking
AU - Jakien, Kasey Marie
AU - Gallun, Frederick J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute for Deafness and Communication Disorders (R01 DC011828 and R01 DC015051; both to FJG) and by the VA RR&D National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, which is located at the VA Portland Health Care System Medical Center. The authors are grateful to the veterans and nonveterans who volunteered their time to participate in this project. The authors are also grateful to Meghan Stansell, Rachel Ellinger, Sara Sell, Sam Bernhisel, and Sean Kampel for help with data collection and database management and Samuel Gordon for engineering support. The authors are also grateful to Anna Diedesch and Nirmal Srinivasan for their input and feedback. The contents of this article are the private views of the authors and should not be assumed to represent the views of the Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Government.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 The Authors.
PY - 2018/12
Y1 - 2018/12
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this study is to report normative data and predict thresholds for a rapid test of spatial release from masking for speech perception. The test is easily administered and has good repeatability, with the potential to be used in clinics and laboratories. Normative functions were generated for adults varying in age and amounts of hearing loss. Method: The test of spatial release presents a virtual auditory scene over headphones with 2 conditions: colocated (with target and maskers at 0°) and spatially separated (with target at 0° and maskers at ± 45°). Listener thresholds are determined as target-to-masker ratios, and spatial release from masking (SRM) is determined as the difference between the colocated condition and spatially separated condition. Multiple linear regression was used to fit the data from 82 adults 18-80 years of age with normal to moderate hearing loss (0-40 dB HL pure-tone average [PTA]). The regression equations were then used to generate normative functions that relate age (in years) and hearing thresholds (as PTA) to target-to-masker ratios and SRM. Results: Normative functions were able to predict thresholds with an error of less than 3.5 dB in all conditions. In the colocated condition, the function included only age as a predictive parameter, whereas in the spatially separated condition, both age and PTA were included as parameters. For SRM, PTA was the only significant predictor. Different functions were generated for the 1st run, the 2nd run, and the average of the 2 runs. All 3 functions were largely similar in form, with the smallest error being associated with the function on the basis of the average of 2 runs. Conclusion: With the normative functions generated from this data set, it would be possible for a researcher or clinician to interpret data from a small number of participants or even a single patient without having to first collect data from a control group, substantially reducing the time and resources needed. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha. 7080878.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of this study is to report normative data and predict thresholds for a rapid test of spatial release from masking for speech perception. The test is easily administered and has good repeatability, with the potential to be used in clinics and laboratories. Normative functions were generated for adults varying in age and amounts of hearing loss. Method: The test of spatial release presents a virtual auditory scene over headphones with 2 conditions: colocated (with target and maskers at 0°) and spatially separated (with target at 0° and maskers at ± 45°). Listener thresholds are determined as target-to-masker ratios, and spatial release from masking (SRM) is determined as the difference between the colocated condition and spatially separated condition. Multiple linear regression was used to fit the data from 82 adults 18-80 years of age with normal to moderate hearing loss (0-40 dB HL pure-tone average [PTA]). The regression equations were then used to generate normative functions that relate age (in years) and hearing thresholds (as PTA) to target-to-masker ratios and SRM. Results: Normative functions were able to predict thresholds with an error of less than 3.5 dB in all conditions. In the colocated condition, the function included only age as a predictive parameter, whereas in the spatially separated condition, both age and PTA were included as parameters. For SRM, PTA was the only significant predictor. Different functions were generated for the 1st run, the 2nd run, and the average of the 2 runs. All 3 functions were largely similar in form, with the smallest error being associated with the function on the basis of the average of 2 runs. Conclusion: With the normative functions generated from this data set, it would be possible for a researcher or clinician to interpret data from a small number of participants or even a single patient without having to first collect data from a control group, substantially reducing the time and resources needed. Supplemental Material: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha. 7080878.
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U2 - 10.1044/2018_AJA-17-0069
DO - 10.1044/2018_AJA-17-0069
M3 - Article
C2 - 30458523
AN - SCOPUS:85058607710
VL - 27
SP - 529
EP - 538
JO - American Journal of Audiology
JF - American Journal of Audiology
SN - 1059-0889
IS - 4
ER -