Speech Recognition and Listening Effort for Adults with Aphasia

Indianapolis, IN

Aphasia is a language disorder resulting from brain injury that can affect an individual's receptive and expressive language. For adults with aphasia it may become difficult to understand spoken language, especially in noise, and listening can become difficult. However, it is unclear as to what listening conditions might be more or less difficult for adults with aphasia. Past work on speech recognition in quiet versus noise, and past work on speech recognition in auditory-only versus auditory-visual conditions has yielded mixed results. This study investigated speech recognition and listening effort across a wide variety of listening conditions, in adults with mild aphasia. Tests for hearing, vision, reaction time, and inhibition were used in order to gain a better understanding of each participant's baseline perceptual and cognitive abilities. Tests of word and sentence recognition were then performed across three conditions: an auditory-visual condition in quiet, an auditory-only condition in quiet, and an auditory-only condition of noise. Listening effort was assessed subjectively after each of the speech recognition tests. The results of this study will allow for a deeper understanding of speech recognition and listening effort in adults with aphasia. Results will also be discussed in terms of their relation to treatment options for adults with aphasia.