ScienceDaily
Your source for the latest research news
Follow Subscribe
New:
  • Intricate Process of DNA Repair
  • Scientists Unravel Mystery of Photosynthesis
  • Controlling Light With Light
  • Monster Galaxy in Very Early Universe
  • Pluto's Icy Heart Makes Winds Blow
  • Why Flu Hits Some People Harder Than Others
  • Sand Dunes Can 'Communicate' With Each Other
  • 'Parentese' Boosts Baby Language Development
  • Solar Wind Interactions Beyond Earth Orbit
  • Eating Red, Processed Meat: Study Finds Risks
advertisement
Follow all of ScienceDaily's latest research news and top science headlines!
Science News
from research organizations

Biomarkers of brain function may lead to clinical tests for hidden hearing loss

Researchers have identified two new biomarkers for measuring our ability to follow conversations in noisy environments

Date:
January 28, 2020
Source:
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Summary:
A pair of biomarkers of brain function -- one that represents 'listening effort,' and another that measures ability to process rapid changes in frequencies -- may help to explain why a person with normal hearing may struggle to follow conversations in noisy environments. The researchers hoped the study could inform the design of next-generation clinical testing for hidden hearing loss, a condition that cannot currently be measured using standard hearing exams.
Share:
FULL STORY

A pair of biomarkers of brain function -- one that represents "listening effort," and another that measures ability to process rapid changes in frequencies -- may help to explain why a person with normal hearing may struggle to follow conversations in noisy environments, according to a new study led by Massachusetts Eye and Ear researchers. Published online last week in the scientific journal eLife, the study could inform the design of next-generation clinical testing for hidden hearing loss, a condition that cannot currently be measured using standard hearing exams.

advertisement

"Between the increased use of personal listening devices or the simple fact that the world is a much noisier place than it used to be, patients are reporting as early as middle age that they are struggling to follow conversations in the workplace and in social settings, where other people are also speaking in the background," said senior study author Daniel B. Polley, PhD, Director of the Lauer Tinnitus Research Center at Mass. Eye and Ear and Associate Professor of Otolaryngology Head-Neck Surgery at Harvard Medical School. "Current clinical testing can't pick up what's going wrong with this very common problem."

"Our study was driven by a desire to develop new types of tests," added lead study author Aravindakshan Parthasarathy, PhD, an investigator in the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Mass. Eye and Ear. "Our work shows that measuring cognitive effort in addition to the initial stages of neural processing in the brain may explain how patients are able to separate one speaker from a crowd."

Hearing loss affects an estimated 48 million Americans and can be caused by noise exposure, aging and other factors. Hearing loss typically arises from damage to the sensory cells of the inner ear (the cochlea), which convert sounds into electrical signals, and/or the auditory nerve fibers that transmit those signals to the brain. It is traditionally diagnosed by elevation in the faintest sound level required to hear a brief tone, as revealed on an audiogram, the gold standard test of hearing sensitivity.

Hidden hearing loss, on the other hand, refers to listening difficulties that go undetected by conventional audiograms and are thought to arise from abnormal connectivity and communication of nerve cells in the brain and ear, not in the sensory cells that initially convert sound waves into electrochemical signals. Conventional hearing tests were not designed to detect these neural changes that interfere with our ability to process sounds at louder, more conversational levels.

In the eLife report, the study authors first reviewed more than 100,000 patient records over a 16-year period, finding that approximately 1 in 10 of these patients who visited the audiology clinic at Mass. Eye and Ear presented with complaints of hearing difficulty, yet auditory testing revealed that they had normal audiograms.

Motivated to develop objective biomarkers that might explain these "hidden" hearing complaints, the study authors developed two sets of tests. The first measured electrical EEG signals from the surface of the ear canal to capture how well the earliest stages of sound processing in the brain were encoding subtle but rapid fluctuations in sound waves. The second test used specialized glasses to measure changes in pupil diameter as subjects focused their attention on one speaker while others babbled in the background. Previous research shows changes in pupil size can reflect the amount of cognitive effort expended on a task.

They then recruited 23 young or middle-aged subjects with clinically normal hearing to undergo the tests. As expected, their ability to follow a conversation with others talking in the background varied widely despite having a clean bill of hearing health. By combining their measures of ear canal EEG with changes in pupil diameter, they could identify which subjects struggled to follow speech in noise and which subjects could ace the test. The authors are encouraged by these results, considering that conventional audiograms could not account for any of these performance differences.

"Speech is one of the most complex sounds that we need to make sense of," Dr. Polley said. ." "If our ability to converse in social settings is part of our hearing health, then the tests that are used have to go beyond the very first stages of hearing and more directly measure auditory processing in the brain."

make a difference: sponsored opportunity

Story Source:

Materials provided by Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Aravindakshan Parthasarathy, Kenneth E Hancock, Kara Bennett, Victor DeGruttola, Daniel B Polley. Bottom-up and top-down neural signatures of disordered multi-talker speech perception in adults with normal hearing. eLife, 2020; 9 DOI: 10.7554/eLife.51419

Cite This Page:

  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. "Biomarkers of brain function may lead to clinical tests for hidden hearing loss: Researchers have identified two new biomarkers for measuring our ability to follow conversations in noisy environments." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 January 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200128114636.htm>.
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. (2020, January 28). Biomarkers of brain function may lead to clinical tests for hidden hearing loss: Researchers have identified two new biomarkers for measuring our ability to follow conversations in noisy environments. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 6, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200128114636.htm
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. "Biomarkers of brain function may lead to clinical tests for hidden hearing loss: Researchers have identified two new biomarkers for measuring our ability to follow conversations in noisy environments." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200128114636.htm (accessed February 6, 2020).

  • RELATED TOPICS
    • Health & Medicine
      • Hearing Loss
      • Disability
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Healthy Aging
    • Mind & Brain
      • Hearing Impairment
      • Perception
      • Intelligence
      • Tinnitus
advertisement

  • RELATED TERMS
    • Hearing impairment
    • Visual acuity
    • Sensory system
    • Eye examination
    • Brain
    • Mental confusion
    • Auditory system
    • Service dog
RELATED STORIES

Brain Training Can Improve Our Understanding of Speech in Noisy Places
Oct. 19, 2017 — For many people with hearing challenges, trying to follow a conversation in a crowded restaurant or other noisy venue is a major struggle, even with hearing aids. Now researchers have some good news: ... read more
Hard of Hearing? It's Not Your Ears, It's Your Brain
Oct. 18, 2016 — The reason you may have to say something twice when talking to older family members at Thanksgiving dinner may not be because of their hearing. Researchers have determined that something is going on ... read more
Evidence of 'Hidden Hearing Loss' in College-Age Human Subjects
Sep. 12, 2016 — Researchers have, for the first time, linked symptoms of difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments with evidence of cochlear synaptopathy, a condition known as 'hidden hearing ... read more
Hearing Aids Improve Memory, Speech
Jan. 28, 2016 — Hearing loss, if left untreated, can lead to serious emotional and social consequences, reduced job performance and diminished quality of life. Untreated hearing loss also can interfere with ... read more
FROM AROUND THE WEB

Below are relevant articles that may interest you. ScienceDaily shares links with scholarly publications in the TrendMD network and earns revenue from third-party advertisers, where indicated.
  Print   Email   Share

advertisement

Most Popular
this week

HEALTH & MEDICINE
Modeling Study Estimates Spread of 2019 Novel Coronavirus
'Parentese' Helps Parents, Babies Make 'Conversation' and Boosts Language Development
Whole Genome of the Wuhan Coronavirus, 2019-nCoV, Sequenced
MIND & BRAIN
Neurons illustration (stock image). | Credit: (c) whitehoune / stock.adobe.comBrain Networks Come 'Online' During Adolescence to Prepare Teenagers for Adult Life
Parkinson's definition (stock image). | Credit: (c) Nenov Brothers / stock.adobe.comParkinson's Disease May Start Before Birth
America's Most Widely Consumed Oil Causes Genetic Changes in the Brain
LIVING & WELL
Taking temperature of child (stock image). | Credit: (c) ladysuzi / stock.adobe.comFirst Childhood Flu Helps Explain Why Virus Hits Some People Harder Than Others
Graying hair (stock image). | Credit: (c) smolaw11 / stock.adobe.comSolving a Biological Puzzle: How Stress Causes Gray Hair
Processed meats (stock image). | Credit: (c) igor_kell / stock.adobe.comEating Red Meat and Processed Meat Hikes Heart Disease and Death Risk, Study Finds
advertisement

Strange & Offbeat
 

HEALTH & MEDICINE
High-Tech Printing May Help Eliminate Painful Shots
Flickering Light Mobilizes Brain Chemistry That May Fight Alzheimer's
Efficient Cryopreservation of Genetically Modified Rat Spermatozoa
MIND & BRAIN
Horror Movies Manipulate Brain Activity Expertly to Enhance Excitement
What It's Like to Live Without a Sense of Smell
The Way You Dance Is Unique, and Computers Can Tell It's You
LIVING & WELL
Physics of Giant Bubbles Bursts Secret of Fluid Mechanics
Security Risk for E-Scooters and Riders
Brewing a Better Espresso, With a Shot of Math
SD
  • SD
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Home
    • Home Page
    • Top Science News
    • Latest News
  • Health
    • View all the latest top news in the health sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Health & Medicine
      • Allergy
      • Alternative Medicine
      • Birth Control
      • Cancer
      • Diabetes
      • Diseases
      • Heart Disease
      • HIV and AIDS
      • Obesity
      • Stem Cells
      • ... more topics
      Mind & Brain
      • ADD and ADHD
      • Addiction
      • Alzheimer's
      • Autism
      • Depression
      • Headaches
      • Intelligence
      • Psychology
      • Relationships
      • Schizophrenia
      • ... more topics
      Living Well
      • Parenting
      • Pregnancy
      • Sexual Health
      • Skin Care
      • Men's Health
      • Women's Health
      • Nutrition
      • Diet and Weight Loss
      • Fitness
      • Healthy Aging
      • ... more topics
  • Tech
    • View all the latest top news in the physical sciences & technology,
      or browse the topics below:
      Matter & Energy
      • Aviation
      • Chemistry
      • Electronics
      • Fossil Fuels
      • Nanotechnology
      • Physics
      • Quantum Physics
      • Solar Energy
      • Technology
      • Wind Energy
      • ... more topics
      Space & Time
      • Astronomy
      • Black Holes
      • Dark Matter
      • Extrasolar Planets
      • Mars
      • Moon
      • Solar System
      • Space Telescopes
      • Stars
      • Sun
      • ... more topics
      Computers & Math
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Communications
      • Computer Science
      • Hacking
      • Mathematics
      • Quantum Computers
      • Robotics
      • Software
      • Video Games
      • Virtual Reality
      • ... more topics
  • Enviro
    • View all the latest top news in the environmental sciences,
      or browse the topics below:
      Plants & Animals
      • Agriculture and Food
      • Animals
      • Biology
      • Biotechnology
      • Endangered Animals
      • Extinction
      • Genetically Modified
      • Microbes and More
      • New Species
      • Zoology
      • ... more topics
      Earth & Climate
      • Climate
      • Earthquakes
      • Environment
      • Geography
      • Geology
      • Global Warming
      • Hurricanes
      • Ozone Holes
      • Pollution
      • Weather
      • ... more topics
      Fossils & Ruins
      • Ancient Civilizations
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • Dinosaurs
      • Early Humans
      • Early Mammals
      • Evolution
      • Lost Treasures
      • Origin of Life
      • Paleontology
      • ... more topics
  • Society
    • View all the latest top news in the social sciences & education,
      or browse the topics below:
      Science & Society
      • Arts & Culture
      • Consumerism
      • Economics
      • Political Science
      • Privacy Issues
      • Public Health
      • Racial Disparity
      • Religion
      • Sports
      • World Development
      • ... more topics
      Business & Industry
      • Biotechnology & Bioengineering
      • Computers & Internet
      • Energy & Resources
      • Engineering
      • Medical Technology
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Transportation
      • ... more topics
      Education & Learning
      • Animal Learning & Intelligence
      • Creativity
      • Educational Psychology
      • Educational Technology
      • Infant & Preschool Learning
      • Learning Disorders
      • STEM Education
      • ... more topics
  • Quirky
    • Top News
    • Human Quirks
    • Odd Creatures
    • Bizarre Things
    • Weird World
Free Subscriptions

Get the latest science news with ScienceDaily's free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

  • Email Newsletters
  • RSS Feeds
Follow Us

Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
Have Feedback?

Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

  • Leave Feedback
  • Contact Us
About This Site  |  Staff  |  Reviews  |  Contribute  |  Advertise  |  Privacy Policy  |  Editorial Policy  |  Terms of Use
Copyright 2020 ScienceDaily or by other parties, where indicated. All rights controlled by their respective owners.
Content on this website is for information only. It is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice.
Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners.
Financial support for ScienceDaily comes from advertisements and referral programs, where indicated.
California residents: CCPA opt-out request form.