Robust and Efficient Online Auditory Psychophysics.
Sijia Zhao, Christopher A Brown, Lori L Holt and 1 others
PMID 36131515WHAT IT FOUND
Auditory tests requiring high precision can be run reliably online.
Participants can calibrate their own equipment, and a brief 20-trial test estimates hearing thresholds accurately. This allows researchers to study hearing and attention without expensive lab equipment.
Key findings
01Participants in uncontrolled environments could accurately adjust computer volume to their own hearing threshold, producing results consistent with laboratory settings.
02A single short track of 20 trials using a mode-based analysis provided a reliable estimate of tone-in-noise thresholds, comparable to traditional methods.
03Frequency-selective attention effects were successfully replicated online in 93% of participants using a short testing session.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study focused on healthy young adults with normal hearing, so it does not show that these online methods are valid for patients with hearing loss or complex auditory processing disorders. The validation was limited to specific tasks like tone detection and the probe-signal paradigm; it is unclear if these methods work for more subtle perceptual tasks or those relying on timbre. While effective, the online setup still requires participants to have a computer and headphones, excluding those without access to such technology.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these online testing methods are suitable for clinical diagnosis or for patients with hearing loss. The study validated these procedures only in young adults with normal hearing, and the authors note that tasks requiring very fine perceptual distinctions may not work well online.