Speech auditory brainstem responses in adult hearing aid users: Effects of aiding and background noise, and prediction of behavioral measures

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of aiding (hearing aids) and background noise on Auditory Brainstem Responses to short consonant vowel speech (Speech-ABRs), and to assess the predictive value of these responses in adults with a bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. Speech-ABRs evoked by a 40-ms [da] were recorded from 98 adult hearing-aid users via loudspeaker stimulus presentation with and without a hearing aid, in quiet and in 2-talker babble using a two-channel vertical electrode montage. Behavioral speech perception in noise and/or aided self-reported speech understanding were assessed. Aided speech-ABRs had earlier peak latencies, larger peak amplitudes, and larger F0 encoding amplitudes compared to unaided speech-ABRs. Background noise resulted in later F0 encoding latencies but did not have an effect on peak latencies and amplitudes, or on F0 encoding amplitudes. Speech-ABRs were not a significant predictor of any of the behavioral or self-report measures. Speech-ABRs are not a good predictor measure of speech-in-noise performance or self-reported speech understanding with hearing aids. However, they may have potential for clinical application as an objective measure of speech detection with hearing aids. [Work supported by EPSRC EP/M026728/1, Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education, NIHR MBRC.]