Language proficiency drives listening-related fatigue in those who communicate in English as their second language

Individuals who listen to speech in their second language ('L2 listeners') are disproportionately impacted by adverse acoustic conditions; a phenomenon coined the 'non-native speech-in-noise disadvantage'. Evidence also suggests that L2 listening taxes cognitive resources to a greater extent than in L1 listeners....

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Audiologists should be aware that non-native English-speaking patients may report disproportionately higher listening fatigue in noise; this is language-mediated and should inform counselling and realistic expectation-setting, though no change to hearing-aid fitting protocols is indicated yet.

This study highlights that listening fatigue in clinical and real-world settings is not purely audiological — language proficiency is an independent driver that audiologists must account for when evaluating non-native-speaking patients.

1. 01Language proficiency mediates listening-related fatigue in non-native English speakers.
2. 02The effect is strongest under adverse acoustic conditions (e.g., speech-in-noise).
3. 03Non-native speakers face a 'double disadvantage': poorer acoustics compound linguistic processing demands.
4. 04Findings have implications for audiological counselling of multilingual/multicultural patients.
5. 05Published in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, a peer-reviewed cognitive science journal.

PMID

42754804

DOI

10.3758/s13423-026-03005-3.

Journal

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

2b

Population

Non-native English speakers and native English speakers assessed under varying acoustic conditions

Intervention

Assessment of listening-related fatigue under adverse acoustic (speech-in-noise) conditions stratified by language proficiency

Comparator

Native English speakers / higher-proficiency non-native speakers