Authors: Kateryna Skupovska¹, Laura Rachman¹, Sander Ubbink¹, Deniz Başkent¹
¹University of Groningen / University Medical Center Groningen
Background: In listeners with normal hearing (NH), voice perception and vocal emotion recognition develop early in life and mature in adulthood. However, for hearing aid (HA) users, the development of voice perception is understudied. While HAs improve audibility, they can compress acoustic information and modulate voice cues. Previous research has shown delayed development of voice cues perception in children with HAs, but it is not yet known how these skills evolve, plateau, or decline in adulthood.
Method: The study includes two age-matched adult groups: non-users (control group) and HA users (target group). Participants complete experimental tasks assessing voice cues discrimination, voice gender categorisation, vocal emotion recognition, and speech-in-speech perception. Additional data includes unaided and aided hearing thresholds, questionnaires on HA use and demographics, and a cognitive screening test.
Results: We expect that HA use and hearing status will affect the sensitivity to voice cues, resulting in lower accuracy across all experimental tasks. Also, we expect to find individual variability among HA users, with performance being predicted by age, severity of hearing loss, HA experience, and cognitive abilities.
Conclusion: This study aims to improve understanding of how hearing loss and HA use affect voice and speech perception in adulthood. Addressing this knowledge gap has implications for theoretical models of auditory processing and can impact clinical practice through improvements in counselling, rehabilitation, and the development of HA technology.
