Listeners have difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments, confusing similar sounding words. Cognitive control may be important for segregating the speech signal from background noise and/or selecting between phonological competitors in the mental lexicon....
This basic-science study deepens understanding of listening effort and cognitive load in noise, but does not yet provide specific guidance to change clinical hearing aid fitting or counselling practice.
Understanding how intelligibility drives cognitive effort in noise underpins the development of better hearing aids, assistive listening strategies, and outcome measures that account for listening fatigue.
- 01Examines the link between speech intelligibility and cognitive conflict resolution during speech-in-noise tasks.
- 02Findings have implications for models of listening effort and fatigue in hearing-impaired listeners.
- 03Published in Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics (doi: 10.3758/s13414-026-03271-2).
- 04Relevant to hearing aid algorithm design and rehabilitation research.
- 05Does not directly test hearing-aid users or clinical populations.
Lower speech intelligibility increases cognitive conflict and monitoring demands during speech recognition in noise.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42091803
- DOI
- 10.3758/s13414-026-03271-2.
- Journal
- Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Participants performing speech recognition in noise tasks (population details not specified in abstract)
- Intervention
- Varying levels of speech intelligibility in noise
- Comparator
- Higher intelligibility conditions
Primary outcomes
Cognitive conflict resolution measures; Cognitive monitoring during speech recognition in noise