Final Exam Study Guide

Question 1

Define fatigue as it relates to speech processing.

Answer 1

feeling of being tired after sustained listening of speech

Question 2

Differentiate between listening effort and fatigue as it relates to speech processing.

Answer 2

effort is something you do in the moment, allocation of resources to do the listening and fatigue is how you feel at the end of the day

Question 3

What are some potential consequences for a person who experiences listening-related fatigue?

Answer 3

bad attitude, irritable, shorter attention span, can affect cognitive processing, how you make decisions

Question 4

How is listening-related fatigue measured?

Answer 4

Self-report
Physical, emotional, cognitive
Effects of fatigue on

Physiologic
Salivary cortisol levels

Behavioral
WRS, word recall, response time while completing sustained speech dual-task

Question 5

What situations might lead to listening-related fatigue?

Answer 5

noise and hearing to hear over it like being outside, riding on a train

Question 6

What are some coping strategies that people with hearing loss use to reduce listening-related fatigue?

Answer 6

rest, isolation, skipping school, use of hearing aids or taking them out, proactive engagement

Question 7

Explain how people with hearing loss can experience listening-related fatigue (physically, cognitively, socially, emotionally) with examples.

Answer 7

physical: feeling tired
cognitive: decreased ability to remember things
social: avoidance
emotional: stress, cranky, tired

Question 8

what are external situational determinants of listening-related fatigue

Answer 8

Noisy conditions
Large groups
Listening for a long time
Difficulty with certain talkers

Question 9

what are internalsituational determinants of listening-related fatigue

Answer 9

Urgency or importance of situation
Relationship of listener to talker
Perceived effort to participate
Required participation

Question 10

What are some effects of listening-related fatigue?

Answer 10

Physical
Feeling tired
Low energy
Exhausted

Social
Avoidance
Withdrawal
Isolation

Emotional
Frustration
Anger
Sadness
Stress
Disappointment

Cognitive
Difficulty concentrating
Difficulty remembering

Question 11

Define efficacy and effectiveness and explain why the difference is important. Be able to recognize examples of each

Answer 11

Efficacy
Does it work in the lab?
Controlled conditions
SNR, speech material, task, degree and type of hearing loss, age and cognitive status of participant
“ideal” conditions

Effectiveness
Does it work outside of the lab?
Anything goes!

Efficacy- the treatment works under controlled conditions
Effectiveness- the treatment works outside of the lab
Treatment may work under controlled conditions but not outside of the lab. Lab-based studies may tell us that a specific treatment works but outside of the lab it may not.

Question 12

How is the Vanderbilt fatigue scale administered?

Answer 12

it is a questionnaire
they rate how often each of these situations apply

Question 13

There are two factors that come into play when considering cochlear hearing loss and speech perception, sensitivity and distortion. Define each of these.

Answer 13

sensitivity is caused by pure tone threshold hearing loss; the audibility (did they hear it yes or not). no sensitivity will cause you to not here the signal
HA’s address this well

distortion is impairment or disorder within the auditory or cognitive system
loss of nonlinearity of cochlea, age, neuropathology, cognitive impairment
disorder in the cochlea or beyond
broadening of filters etc.

Question 14

what causes sensitivity loss?

Answer 14

noise exposure, ototoxicity, (damage to hair cells

Question 15

would fluid in the ear cause sensitivity loss?

Answer 15

yes but will not cause a distortion lsos because this happens in cochlea and beyond
conductive pathology only causes sensitivity loss but not distortion

Question 16

Restoring or providing audibility addresses which of these? Does providing audibility completely take care of any speech perception difficulty? Why or why not?

Answer 16

sensitivity

if you make sounds louder, just audibility alone can it take care of speech issues? no because it only addresses the sensitivity part

Question 17

What does the ear (auditory system) do?

Answer 17

amplifies, compresses and anaylzes frequencies

it is a nonlinear signal processors (ear, cochlear)
when it gets interrupted then distortion and sensitivity occurs
by amplifying to make up for sensitivity only addresses audibility and not distortion

Question 18

what interactions across the BM result from nonlinear processing

Answer 18

two tone suppression
distortion products

Question 19

when the signal youre hearing is different than what is in your long term memory. what addresses this?

Answer 19

ELU model - applies to someone who has acquired HL over time and what is in their long term memory is different than what they are getting due to the loss of OHC

Question 20

Define and describe two frequency interactions across the basilar membrane that result from nonlinear signal processing.

Answer 20

two tone suppression & distortion product

Question 21

Discuss at least three consequences of loss of nonlinear processing on the basilar membrane.

Answer 21

reduce frequency selectivity (reduced ability to ell two sounds apart), reduced of tonotopic (lose HF definition, whole bm becomes sensitive to lf and not hf) & loss of two tone suppression (lose peaks, everything becomes a flat line)

Question 22

There are two factors that come into play when considering cochlear hearing loss and speech perception, sensitivity and distortion. Define each of these. What causes sensitivity loss? What causes distortion in the auditory system?

Answer 22

Sensitivity (loss of audibility)- Caused by pure tone threshold loss
Distortion (distortion within the listener’s auditory system)- Can be caused by outer hair cell loss (focus this week is effects of loss of nonlinearity because of OHC loss)- leads to reduced frequency selectivity, reduced tonotopic organization of the BM, loss of 2-tone suppression and distortion products
Cochlear synaptopathy is another cause of distortion in the auditory system

Question 23

Restoring or providing audibility addresses which of these (from the previous question)? Does providing audibility completely take care of any speech perception difficulty? Why or why not?

Answer 23

No.
It comes close in quiet but not completely, particularly if there is a lot of distortion within the auditory-cognitive system. Addressing audibility does not address distortion.

Question 24

two tone suppression

Answer 24

when two tones are close together in frequency, the one with the greater intensity will be amplified and the one with the lesser intensity suppressed

Question 25

what are 2 frequency interactions across the basilar membrane that result from nonlinear signal processing.

Answer 25

2 tone suppression distortion products

Question 26

distortion products

Answer 26

a third tone is generated when two tones are presented. They have to be mathematically related for this to occur which you probably learned in OAE class. Enough for this class to describe that a third tone is created in the presence of two tones, in a nonlinear system.

Question 27

Discuss at least three consequences of loss of nonlinear processing on the basilar membrane.

Answer 27

Tonotopy shifts, best frequency shifts to lower frequency Loss of 2-tone suppression and distortion products as discussed in (4). This results in a completely different pattern of neural firing that is not restored with amplification. Loss of or reduction of frequency selectivity and frequency resolution. This makes it more difficult to tell speech sounds apart (vowels differing only in F1, for example) and more difficulty identifying speech sounds in the presence of noise.

Question 28

Which type of auditory nerve fiber has a low (level) threshold, high spontaneous rate or low spontaneous rate? Which type of auditory nerve fiber has a high (level) threshold, high spontaneous rate or low spontaneous rate? Which of these is affected in cochlear synaptopathy?

Answer 28

Low threshold = high spontaneous firing rate High threshold = low spontaneous firing rate

Question 29

What do we mean when we say that hearing loss causes distortions in neural activity patterns? What does this mean for amplification? How does this fit into our understanding of the ELU model of speech/language processing?

Answer 29

Because of the nonlinear cochlea, responses to sound inputs of varying frequencies results in patterns of excitation that are different from the auditory nerve fiber excitation that would be expected for a single-frequency stimulus. These patterns of excitation are what the brain has come to associate with certain speech sounds. If these patterns are changed due to loss of cochlear nonlinearity, a mismatch between the signal and what is stored in long term memory will occur. This will lead to explicit, effortful processing of speech/language.

Question 30

How does cochlear synaptopathy affect speech processing? In a very broad sense, how would you measure degeneration of these synapses (threshold measures or supra-threshold measures)? Is threshold testing that we do in the clinic sensitive to degeneration of these synapses?

Answer 30

Cochlear synaptopathy makes it difficult to perceive changes in amplitude (very important for speech understanding) especially at higher levels and in noise. This would be measured at a supra-threshold level, not at threshold. Pure tone threshold testing is not sensitive to this.

Question 31

Explain why someone with cochlear synaptopathy might be able to process speech in quiet with minimal difficulty but would have significant difficulty processing speech in noise.

Answer 31

Cochlear synaptopathy affects hearing for high level inputs but does not adversely affect hearing for low level inputs. In a quiet situation, there is generally enough information contained in the low-level inputs for speech understanding to occur. In noisy situations, the low-level sounds are masked by the noise. The only sounds available to the auditory system, then, are the high-level sounds, which are affected by cochlear synaptopathy.

Question 32

Which value of d' (d-prime) indicates a more sensitive test, a higher value or a lower value?

Answer 32

higher value

Question 33

What is the advantage of using d’ as a measure of test sensitivity?

Answer 33

d-prime is independent of pass-fail criteria

Question 34

which is to identify cochlear dead regions?

Answer 34

The TEN noise is designed to mask off-frequency listening

Question 35

Which of the following exemplifies or defines top-down processing? all of the information necessary to process speech is contained in the acoustic signal a listener uses prior knowledge to process speech knowing the topic of conversation helps a listener process speech a listener uses context to process speech a listener uses expectations to process speech

Answer 35

a listener uses prior knowledge to process speech knowing the topic of conversation helps a listener process speech a listener uses context to process speech a listener uses expectations to process speech

Question 36

measures the number of words that can be recalled while also identifying if a word is a noun or verb

Answer 36

Working memory

Question 37

Stroop task

Answer 37

inhibition

Question 38

Sort pictures into categories

Answer 38

semantic knowledge

Question 39

measures the number of letters that can be recalled accurately and in order

Answer 39

Short term memory

Question 40

trail-making task

Answer 40

Executive function

Question 41

reaction time task

Answer 41

Processing speed

Question 42

task is to respond to all the black letters; participant sees imagees containing letters and numbers; the task is to press a space bar

Answer 42

Attention

Question 43

slow deliberate effortful

Answer 43

explicit processing

Question 44

rapid, automatic, relatively effortless

Answer 44

implicit processing

Question 45

For a dual-task paradigm, the primary task must always be a speech task (if measuring listening effort). Which of the following could be used as a secondary task when measuring listening effort? Select all that apply recall task speech recognition threshold in noise task reaction time task tracking task attention task

Answer 45

recall task reaction time task tracking task attention task

Question 46

True/False. Hearing aids can potentially both increase AND decrease the amount of cognitive effort required to process speech.

Answer 46

true

Question 47

what 3 general ways can listening effort be measured

Answer 47

self report behavioral physiologic

Question 48

survey question

Answer 48

self report

Question 49

dual task paradigm

Answer 49

behavioral

Question 50

pupillometry

Answer 50

physiologic

Question 51

shown to work in controlled ideal setting

Answer 51

efficacy

Question 52

shown to work in real-word setting

Answer 52

effectiveness

Question 53

Which of the following are lost or reduced with outer hair cell cochlear hearing loss? Select all that apply. semantic knowledge two-tone suppression top-down processing pure tone sensitivity cochlear tonotopicity distortion products

Answer 53

two-tone suppression pure tone sensitivity cochlear tonotopicity distortion products

Question 54

We discussed a type of "hidden hearing loss" in this class that is sometimes referred to as cochlear synaptopathy. While we do not yet know for sure how manifests in humans, the mouse model suggests it is a result of damaged cochlear inner hair cell synapses, resulting in a loss of information relayed to the auditory nerve fiber. Which type of auditory nerve fiber is affected?

Answer 54

those responsible for higher-lever inputs

Question 55

Select all the statements below that are true regarding the type of "hidden hearing loss" referred to as cochlear synaptopathy. Assume everything else in the auditory-cognitive system is intact and functioning typically. pure tone thresholds are unaffected affects the ability to process complex auditory information at suprathreshold levels can be addressed using wide dynamic range compression is correlated with middle ear pathology speech in quiet is not significantly impacted affects speech in noise processing

Answer 55

pure tone thresholds are unaffected affects the ability to process complex auditory information at suprathreshold levels speech in quiet is not significantly impacted affects speech in noise processing

Question 56

True or false. Speech in quiet ability typically correlates with speech in noise ability.

Answer 56

false

Question 57

A speech in noise test has been developed and normed on young adult listeners with hearing thresholds no poorer than 15 dB at any frequency. The typically-hearing listeners were able to achieve 50% correct at an SNR of 4 dB. You test a patient using this test and they need a more favorable SNR. They are able to achieve 50% correct at an SNR of 9 dB. What is the SNR loss in dB? Enter the number only.

Answer 57

5 dB

Question 58

can compare aided vs. unaided

Answer 58

soundfield

Question 59

can compare monaural vs. binaural

Answer 59

headphones/inserts

Question 60

this transducer type is more commonly available

Answer 60

headphones/inserts

Question 61

calibration/standardization is easier

Answer 61

headphones/inserts

Question 62

Which of the following speech characteristics have an associated visual cue? Select the option if there is a visual cue at least some of the time. syllable information voice onset time voice fundamental frequency speaker emotion place of articulation

Answer 62

syllable information speaker emotion place of articulation

Question 63

what is d prime

Answer 63

is a measure of test sensitivity that is independent of pass-fail criteria

Question 64

Which value of d’ prime indicates a more sensitive test, a higher value or a lower value?

Answer 64

higher value

Question 65

Differentiate between a higher and a lower value of d’ based on hypothetical distributions of test scores

Answer 65

low is less sensitive and high is more sensitive test further apart they are the more sensitive the test

Question 66

on-frequency listening vs. off-frequency listening

Answer 66

off frequency is a tone that is detected away from the region of peak basilar membrane vibration meaning that the tone is detected by the IHCs at the edge of the dead region on frequency is when the frequency that is presented is the place on the basilar membrane that is actually responding

Question 67

Define the terms model and theory

Answer 67

theory: statement of what we think we know about how something works model: representation of it

Question 68

What are 3 types of models used in speech and hearing research?

Answer 68

physical representation ex: 3d printed model computer program animal testing on mice

Question 69

describe bottom up

Answer 69

easy info is in the acoustic signal analyzed in the auditory pathway implicit (automatic) doesn't use the brain at all because it is quick and automatic

Question 70

describe top down

Answer 70

more difficult uses prior knowledge and expectations explicit higher level cognitive function is involved in identifying and analyzing speech sounds

Question 71

active and passive models of speech perception

Answer 71

active: stresses link between speech perception and speech production knowledge of how sounds are produced factor in speech recognition cognitive energy or intellectual resources are used to identify speech passive: speech perception is almost entirely sensory little to no use of cognitive resources

Question 72

Name the 8 factors that contribute to speech understanding

Answer 72

The speech signal itself Environment (noise, reverberation) Listener’s familiarity with the speaker’s accent and language Context/predictability Listener’s sensory and cognitive abilities Hearing aid features Individual’s intention/motivation Masking type (informational vs. energetic) Informational = other speech Energetic = non-speech noise

Question 73

The subject is seated at a computer monitor. They are presented with a circle on the screen, one at a time, at random timing intervals. The task is to press the space bar as soon as they see the circle

Answer 73

reaction time/ processing speed

Question 74

The subject is presented with text, specifically color names written out, of varying colors. The text color does not match the color name. The task is to name the color of the word.

Answer 74

inhibition/stroop test

Question 75

The subject is given cards with pictures of objects and tasked with sorting them into pre-defined categories. For example, the cards may depict an orange, a rose, some berries, a hat, a daisy, and a glove. The cards should be sorted into the categories fruit, flowers, and clothing.

Answer 75

Semantic knowledge/semantic memory

Question 76

The subject is presented with sets of words and asked to repeat the words back, in order. The number of words (set size) increases after every correct response until the subject is unable to repeat back the full set in order.

Answer 76

short term memory

Question 77

The subject is seated at a computer monitor. They are presented with a series of letter and number shapes, one at a time. They are tasked with pressing a button whenever they see a number shape.

Answer 77

selective attention

Question 78

The subject is presented with a set of words, one at a time. For each word, they are required to say if it starts with a letter from the first half of the alphabet or the second half. They are also tasked with recalling the full set of words. The set size increases until they are no longer able to accurately state what part of the alphabet the first letter of the word is from AND recall the full set of words.

Answer 78

Working memory - increased the set size and they have to tell them to make a judgment of the letter

Question 79

The subject is presented with a series of circles on a paper, some of which contain the letters of the alphabet, some of which contain digits. The subject is tasked with connecting the letters and numbers in order, switching back and forth between the letters and the numbers.

Answer 79

executive function - trail making task

Question 80

Describe the Ease of Language Understanding Model

Answer 80

We have language in the long term and as info comes in the multimodal info is put together and looks for a match, if there is one in long term, understanding automatically occurs. An easy match is familiar talker or topic of conversation, quiet environment with short distance. For example, you ask a friend how they are and they say fine. if it doesn’t match what is in long term, there is no understanding immediately and explicit understanding takes place and pulls in additional resources to understand and it is deliberate and effortful. A difficult match is an unfamiliar talker with an accent/dialect or there are distortions, noisy environment, hL or impaired cognition. For example, you go to a coffee shop and ask what a latte is but it is noisy and you misheard so you ordered it thinking it was drip coffee but it was espresso.

Question 81

Explain the difference between implicit and explicit processing. When does each occur?

Answer 81

implicit = automatic, bottom up processing explicit = deliberate/intentinoal, top down processing

Question 82

explain predictive roles

Answer 82

you predict based on the knowledge of sound, the context, the speaker etc. implicit process fast facilitates the match of what is in working memory

Question 83

explain postdictive roles

Answer 83

you figure out what it was after and you use the context you heard to figure out the missing piece explicit process slow, deliberate

Question 84

Explain how hearing aids can both reduce and increase the working memory capacity required for speech/language processing

Answer 84

Hearing aids can reduce the amount of working memory capacity required by increasing audibility of the stimulus Can increase the amount of working memory capacity required by introducing unwanted distortion

Question 85

Explain a dual-task paradigm (one example of a behavioral method for measuring listening effort) and be able to draw/interpret a graph showing dual-task data.

Answer 85

primary task always a speech task secondary task pursuit/tracking recall generate random patterns attention task semantic judgement task

Question 86

when someone allocates cognitive resources for listening (increased listening effort) this means that there are fewer cognitive resources to carry out other tasks

Answer 86

true