To investigate whether physiological measures such as oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ) and heart rate can reliably indicate listening effort and fatigue as well as possibly serve as objective alternatives to traditional subjective reports in the evaluation of the effects of digital noise reduction (DNR) in hearing aids.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No actionable clinical change at this stage — SpO₂ and heart rate have not been validated as reliable biomarkers for listening effort or fatigue; findings should inform future research design rather than current clinical protocols.
Identifying objective physiological biomarkers for listening effort would transform hearing aid fitting, rehabilitation monitoring, and disability assessment by reducing reliance on self-report measures.
- 01Study examines SpO₂ and heart rate as potential biomarkers for listening effort and fatigue.
- 02Listening effort and fatigue are important but hard-to-measure outcomes in audiology.
- 03Objective physiological markers could reduce reliance on subjective self-report scales.
- 04Results bear directly on hearing aid research and cochlear implant outcome measurement.
- 05Published in a peer-reviewed ENT/audiology journal (Thieme/LARYNG-ORL).
SpO₂ and heart rate may serve as biological markers for listening effort and fatigue.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42921388
- DOI
- 10.1055/s-0046-1827787.
- Journal
- Laryngo-Rhino-Otologie
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Participants undergoing listening effort and fatigue tasks (population details not specified)
- Intervention
- Measurement of SpO₂ and heart rate during listening effort and fatigue tasks
- Comparator
- Subjective or behavioral measures of listening effort and fatigue
Primary outcomes
Correlation of SpO₂ with listening effort; Correlation of heart rate with listening fatigue