Lexical-Access Ability and Cognitive Predictors of Speech Recognition in Noise in Adult Cochlear Implant Users.
Marre W Kaandorp, Cas Smits, Paul Merkus and 2 others
PMID 29205095WHAT IT FOUND
Verbal working memory and duration of hearing loss were associated with sentence recognition in noise for cochlear implant users.
Lexical-access measures were weaker, and word or digit recognition did not track cognitive or linguistic scores.
Key findings
01Verbal working memory and duration of hearing loss together accounted for 55% of the differences in sentence-in-noise scores among the 20 CI users with usable SIN data.
02Lexical-decision time was associated with the sentence-minus-digit noise difference, but word naming and the combined lexical-access score were not.
03Four participants had SIN thresholds higher than 15 dB SNR and were excluded from the main SIN analyses.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The main sentence analyses included only 20 of the 24 participants, because four had unreliable sentence-in-noise thresholds higher than 15 dB SNR. Many correlations were tested, so some significant links could be chance findings. Word recognition in quiet was relatively high for most participants, which may have reduced room to detect cognitive effects. The sample was limited to native Dutch speakers, and 23 of 24 participants used Cochlear devices. The study measured associations in existing cochlear implant users, not whether cognitive tests improve implant selection or rehabilitation outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 55% figure as proof that verbal working memory causes better speech recognition in noise. This was a small correlational study, and four participants with unreliable sentence-in-noise scores were excluded from the main analysis.