Only behavioral but not self-report measures of speech perception correlate with cognitive abilities

Good speech perception and communication skills in everyday life are crucial for participation and well-being, and are therefore an overarching aim of auditory rehabilitation. Both behavioral and self-report measures can be used to assess these skills. However, correlations between behavioral and self-report speech perception measures are often low. One possible explanation is that there is a mismatch between the specific situations used in the assessment of these skills in each method, and a more careful matching across situations might improve consistency of results. The role that cognition plays in specific speech situations may also be important for understanding communication, as speech perception tests vary in their cognitive demands. In this study, the role of executive function, working memory (WM) and attention in behavioral and self-report measures of speech perception was investigated. Thirty existing hearing aid users with mild-to-moderate hearing loss aged between 50 and 74 years completed a behavioral test battery with speech perception tests ranging from phoneme discrimination in modulated noise (easy) to words in multi-talker babble (medium) and keyword perception in a carrier sentence against a distractor voice (difficult). In addition, a self-report measure of aided communication, residual disability from the Glasgow Hearing Aid Benefit Profile, was obtained. Correlations between speech perception tests and self-report measures were higher when specific speech situations across both were matched. Cognition correlated with behavioral speech perception test results but not with self-report. Only the most difficult speech perception test, keyword perception in a carrier sentence with a competing distractor voice, engaged executive functions in addition to WM. In conclusion, any relationship between behavioral and self-report speech perception is not mediated by a shared correlation with cognition

Sensory and demographic characteristics of deafblindness rehabilitation clients in Montréal, Canada

Purpose: Demographic changes are increasing the number of older adults with combined age-related vision and hearing loss, while medical advances increase the survival probability of children with congenital dual (or multiple) impairments due to pre-maturity or rare hereditary diseases. Rehabilitation services for these populations are highly in demand since traditional uni-sensory rehabilitation approaches using the other sense to compensate are not always utilizable. Very little is currently known about the client population characteristics with dual sensory impairment. The present study provides information about demographic and sensory variables of persons in the Montreal region that were receiving rehabilitation for dual impairment in December 2010. This information can inform researchers, clinicians, educators, as well as administrators about potential research and service delivery priorities. Method: A chart review of all client files across the three rehabilitation agencies that offer integrated dual sensory rehabilitation services in Montreal provided data on visual acuity, visual field, hearing detection thresholds, and demographic variables. Results: The 209 males and 355 females ranged in age from 4 months to 105 years (M = 71.9, S.D. = 24.6), indicating a prevalence estimate for dual sensory impairment at 15/100 000. Only 5.7% were under 18 years of age, while 69.1% were over the age of 65 years, with 43.1% over the age of 85 years. The diagnostic combination that accounted for 31% of the entire sample was age-related macular degeneration with presbycusis. Their visual and auditory measures indicated that older adults were likely to fall into moderate to severe levels of impairment on both measures. Individuals with Usher Syndrome comprised 20.9% (n = 118) of the sample. Conclusion: The age distribution in this sample of persons with dual sensory impairment indicates that service delivery planning will need to strongly consider the growing presence of older adults as the baby-boomers approach retirement age. The distribution of their visual and auditory limits indicates that the large majority of this client group has residual vision and hearing that can be maximized in the rehabilitation process in order to restore functional abilities and social participation. Future research in this area should identify the specific priorities in both rehabilitation and research in individuals affected with combined vision and hearing loss