Auditory perceptual & cognitive test battery (Cherri et al., 2025)

Purpose: Auditory perceptual and cognitive tasks can be useful as a long-term goal in guiding rehabilitation and intervention strategies in audiology clinics that mostly operate at a faster pace and on strict timelines. The rationale of this study was to assess test–retest reliability of an abbreviated test battery and evaluate age-related auditory perceptual and cognitive effects on these measures.Method: Experiment 1 evaluated the test–retest repeatability of an abbreviated test battery and its use in an adverse listening environment. Ten participants performed two visits, each including four conditions: quiet, background noise, external noise, and background mixed with external noise. In Experiment 2, both auditory perceptual and cognitive assessments were collected from younger adults with normal hearing and older adults with and without hearing loss. The full test battery included measures of frequency selectivity, temporal fine structure and envelope processing, spectrotemporal and spatial processing and cognition, and an external measure of tolerance to background noise.Results: Results from Experiment 1 showed good test–retest repeatability and nonsignificant effects from background or external noise. In Experiment 2, effects of age and hearing loss were shown across auditory perceptual and cognitive measures, except in measures of temporal envelope perception and tolerance to background noise.Conclusions: These data support the use of an abbreviated test battery in relatively uncontrolled listening environments such as clinic waiting rooms. With an efficient test battery, perceptual and cognitive deficits can be assessed with minimal resources and little clinician involvement due to the automated nature of the test and the use of consumer-grade technology.Supplemental Material S1. The full dataset for Experiment 1 including individual thresholds for each subject on the auditory perceptual measures across both sessions and four conditions: Quiet, background noise (BN) through headphones, external noise (XN), and both background and external noise (BNXN).Supplemental Material S2. The full dataset for Experiment 2 including the thresholds and scores for each subject in the YNH, ONH, and OHL groups for all auditory perceptual and cognitive measures. Here we include the MTGD data used in the data analysis shown in the main document, which reflects the same and common MTGD task parameters completed by subjects.Supplemental Material S3. Summary of mean thresholds, standard deviation, and post-hoc significance values for YNH, ONH, and OHL on the auditory perceptual, and cognitive tasks without excluding outliers. Significance values in bold indicate statistically significant differences between the groups as calculated by nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test. Fw: Forward. Bw: Backward.Cherri, D., Ozmeral., E. J., Gallun, F. J., Seitz, A. R., & Eddins, D. A. (2025). Feasibility and repeatability of an abbreviated auditory perceptual and cognitive test battery. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 68(2), 719–739. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-23-00590

研究目的：听觉感知与认知任务可作为长期目标，用于指导多数节奏快、时间要求严格的听力学诊所的康复与干预策略。本研究的研究初衷是评估简化测试组合的重测信度，并考察年龄相关因素对这些指标的听觉感知与认知效应。

研究方法：实验1评估了简化测试组合的重测重复性，以及其在不利聆听环境中的应用效果。共10名参与者完成两次测试，每次测试包含四种聆听条件：静息环境、背景噪声、外部噪声，以及背景噪声与外部噪声混合环境。实验2则从听力正常的青年人、伴与不伴听力损失的老年人中采集听觉感知与认知评估数据。完整测试组合涵盖频率选择性、时间精细结构与包络加工、时频与空间加工及认知功能的测评，以及一项背景噪声耐受度的外部测评指标。

研究结果：实验1结果显示，该测试组合具有良好的重测重复性，背景噪声与外部噪声均未产生显著效应。实验2结果表明，年龄与听力损失对多数听觉感知及认知测评指标存在显著影响，但时间包络知觉与背景噪声耐受度两项指标除外。

研究结论：本研究数据支持在诊所候诊室等相对不受控的聆听环境中使用简化测试组合。借助该高效测试组合，由于测试具备自动化特性且可使用消费级技术，感知与认知缺陷的评估可在资源投入极少、临床医师参与度极低的情况下完成。

补充材料：
S1 实验1完整数据集，包含两次测试中所有受试者在四种聆听条件下的听觉感知指标个体阈值：静息环境、通过耳机呈现的背景噪声（BN）、外部噪声（XN），以及背景噪声与外部噪声混合环境（BNXN）。
S2 实验2完整数据集，包含听力正常青年人（YNH）、听力正常老年人（ONH）与伴听力损失老年人（OHL）三组受试者在所有听觉感知与认知测评中的阈值与得分。本材料包含主文档数据分析中所用的MTGD数据，该数据对应受试者完成的同一套标准化MTGD任务参数。
S3 未剔除异常值时，YNH、ONH与OHL三组受试者在听觉感知与认知任务中的平均阈值、标准差及事后检验显著性值汇总。加粗的显著性值代表通过非参数克鲁斯卡尔-沃利斯检验(Kruskal-Wallis test)计算得出的组间统计学差异显著。Fw：正向（Forward），Bw：反向（Backward）。

参考文献：Cherri, D., Ozmeral, E. J., Gallun, F. J., Seitz, A. R., & Eddins, D. A. (2025). 简化版听觉感知与认知测试组合的可行性与重复性. 《言语、语言与听力研究杂志》, 68(2), 719–739. https://doi.org/10.1044/2024_JSLHR-23-00590