Assessment of Speech Processing and Listening Effort Associated With Speech-on-Speech Masking Using the Visual World Paradigm and Pupillometry.
Khaled H A Abdel-Latif, Thomas Koelewijn, Deniz Başkent and 1 others
PMID 39800920WHAT IT FOUND
Eye-tracking and pupil size distinguish subtle changes in listening effort during speech-on-speech masking, even when verbal recognition scores are near perfect.
This method offers a way to assess speech processing in patients who cannot provide verbal responses.
Key findings
01Gaze fixation patterns and pupil dilation varied significantly across different target-to-masker ratios, reflecting differences in listening effort.
02Eye-tracking measures detected differences in processing between near-ceiling conditions where standard verbal recall scores showed no significant difference.
03The method does not require verbal responses, making it suitable for individuals with speech production impairments.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only 12 young adults with normal hearing, so results may not generalize to older adults or those with hearing loss. The task used a specific German sentence test (OLSA), which may not translate directly to other languages or clinical populations. The sample size was small, limiting statistical power.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. Funding was provided by several scientific research organizations in the Netherlands and Germany.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume this method is ready for clinical use with hearing-impaired patients. The study was conducted only on young people with normal hearing, and the authors explicitly state that results in other listener groups are unknown.