Role of Selective Attention for Sound Modulations in Listening Effort of Patients With Cochlear Implants

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are investigating how selective auditory attention affects listening effort in adults with cochlear implants compared to adults with normal hearing. This trial focuses on understanding how cochlear implant users perceive sound amplitude modulations and how interference from other sounds may impact their ability to focus on relevant auditory information, especially in complex listening environments like cocktail parties. The study aims to improve knowledge about cochlear implant users' listening challenges and to develop prognostic tests based on auditory attention abilities. Participants include adults with cochlear implants and healthy volunteers with normal hearing. They will undergo psychoacoustic tests involving a forced choice task to detect target sound amplitude modulations in the presence or absence of distracting modulations. The cochlear implant users will use a special reference processor during testing. Additionally, participants will perform speech recognition tasks while their pupil diameter is measured with an eye-tracker to assess listening effort. Tests will be conducted in a soundproof booth and last about 1 hour and 40 minutes, with a possible second session if needed. During the study, participants will provide informed consent and demographic information. Hearing tests will confirm eligibility for healthy volunteers. The study measures auditory attention capacity through changes in amplitude modulation detection performance and evaluates listening effort using pupil dilation during speech recognition tasks in silence and noise. Data analysis will explore the relationship between auditory attention and listening effort separately for cochlear implant users and controls, with safety and reliability monitored throughout the sessions.

Cochlear Implanted Listening Effort and Hearing Attention