This study examined how fluid intelligence contributes to speech perception in noise (SPIN) among adults with age-related hearing loss who use hearing aids. We further investigated whether masker type (informational vs. energetic masking) and intelligibility criterion (50% vs. 80%) moderate this relationship.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists should be aware that cognitive factors like fluid intelligence interact with masker type when predicting speech-in-noise outcomes for hearing aid users, which has implications for counseling and outcome expectations — though no immediate fitting protocol change is warranted from this single study.
Understanding the cognitive-audiological interaction in speech-in-noise performance can improve how clinicians counsel aging hearing aid users and may inform personalized fitting strategies.
- 01Fluid intelligence moderates speech-in-noise performance in older hearing aid users.
- 02The moderation effect varies depending on the type of masking noise used.
- 03Intelligibility criterion (threshold definition) also affects how the relationship appears.
- 04Study population: adults with age-related hearing loss wearing hearing aids.
- 05Findings highlight cognitive factors as important variables in audiological outcomes research.
The association between fluid intelligence and speech-in-noise performance in hearing aid users is moderated by masker type.
studysupportedIntelligibility criterion influences the observed relationship between fluid intelligence and speech-in-noise performance.
studysupported- PMID
- 42932290
- DOI
- 10.1044/2026_JSLHR-25-01028.
- Journal
- Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Adults with age-related hearing loss who use hearing aids
- Intervention
- Assessment of fluid intelligence in relation to speech-in-noise performance under varying masker types and intelligibility criteria
- Comparator
- Different masker types and intelligibility criteria as moderating variables
Primary outcomes
Speech-in-noise performance; Moderation effect of fluid intelligence by masker type; Effect of intelligibility criterion on the intelligence–performance association