Evaluation of a Method for Determining Binaural Sensitivity to Temporal Fine Structure (TFS-AF Test) for Older Listeners With Normal and Impaired Low-Frequency Hearing.
Christian Füllgrabe, Brian C J Moore
PMID 29090641WHAT IT FOUND
The test produced a graded binaural hearing sensitivity score for older listeners with normal or mild low-frequency hearing loss, and repeated runs did not improve scores.
The hearing-impaired and normal-hearing older groups did not differ clearly.
Key findings
01The TFS-AF test produced threshold estimates for 13 older normal-hearing listeners across 15 runs, and for 13 older hearing-impaired listeners, including one whose final threshold was close to 190 Hz, well above the lowest allowed frequency.
02Repeated TFS-AF runs did not show practice effects in older normal-hearing listeners, and older hearing-impaired listeners also showed no improvement across three runs.
03Across older listeners, TFS-AF thresholds were related to low-frequency hearing thresholds, but the older hearing-impaired group was not clearly different from the older normal-hearing group.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only 13 older normal-hearing and 13 older hearing-impaired listeners were tested, and the hearing-impaired group had mild-to-moderate, mostly symmetric low-frequency loss, so it does not show how the test works in severe, asymmetric, or other hearing profiles. The study measured a psychoacoustic threshold, not speech-in-noise performance, hearing-aid benefit, or functional communication, so it does not show that the test changes treatment decisions. The comparison with young listeners used previously published data, not new young participants tested in this study. Some runs produced implausibly high thresholds, about 3% exceeded 1500 Hz, so results may need checking for lucky guesses. The older hearing-impaired and normal-hearing groups were not clearly different, and the link with low-frequency hearing loss was weak, so hearing loss alone should not be inferred from a poor score.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this test predicts how well an older adult hears speech in noise or will benefit from hearing aids. The study measured a binaural hearing threshold, not speech performance or hearing aid outcomes.