Reverberation Impact on Spatial Hearing Development

Overseen By Z. Ellen Peng, PhD

Age: < 65

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Phase < 1

Sponsor: Father Flanagan's Boys' Home

Disqualifiers: Hearing loss, Intellectual disability

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: Unknown

120 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?

The goal of the clinical trial study (Phase 0) is to map out the developmental trajectory of functional spatial hearing abilities in reverberant environments for children with normal hearing between the ages of 6 and 18 years, and to understand the inter-relationships between the three perceptual abilities: auditory object size formation, spatial acuity, and spatial unmasking during typical development. Children are asked to perform psychoacoustic tasks when the auditory stimuli are processed to present in virtual acoustic environments (1) with no reverberation and (2) with one of the two levels of reverberation that emulate everyday indoor environments. The intervention of this clinical study is in the random assignment of one of the two reverberant environments. Researchers will compare these children with a group of normal-hearing adults to anchor matured performances.

Will I have to stop taking my current medications?

The trial protocol does not specify whether participants must stop taking their current medications.

What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment High-Reverberation, High-Reverberation Environment, Reverberant Acoustic Environment, Low-Reverberation, Low-Reverberation Environment, Minimal Echo Environment for spatial hearing development?

Research shows that exposure to reverberant environments can improve speech understanding, suggesting that controlled reverberation might help in developing spatial hearing. Additionally, managing noise and reverberation in classrooms has been shown to improve speech perception for children who are hard of hearing, indicating potential benefits for spatial hearing development. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Is exposure to different reverberation environments safe for humans?

The research does not provide specific safety data on exposure to different reverberation environments, but it does highlight that excessive noise and reverberation can negatively impact speech recognition and learning, especially in children and individuals with hearing impairments. ^{1 6 7 8 9}

How does the treatment 'High-Reverberation, Low-Reverberation' differ from other treatments for spatial hearing development?

This treatment is unique because it uses different acoustic environments to study their impact on spatial hearing development, focusing on how reverberation (echoes in a room) affects speech recognition and sound localization, which is not typically addressed in standard hearing treatments. ^{1 9 10 11 12}

Research Team

Z. Ellen Peng

Principal Investigator

Father Flanagan's Boys' Home

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for typically developing children aged 6-18 with normal hearing, able to hear sounds at a soft level across a range of pitches. It excludes those who don't pass the hearing test or have intellectual developmental disabilities.

Inclusion Criteria

I am within the age limit and have normal hearing across all tested frequencies.

Exclusion Criteria

Individuals who fail hearing screen as described above.

Individuals who have a diagnosed intellectual developmental disability.

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Psychoacoustic Task Performance

Participants perform psychoacoustic tasks in virtual acoustic environments with varying levels of reverberation

3 years

Regular visits for task performance

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for the development of spatial hearing abilities

4 weeks

Treatment Details

Interventions

• High-Reverberation
• Low-Reverberation

Trial Overview The study examines how kids develop the ability to hear in places with echo (reverberation). They'll do listening tasks in virtual rooms designed to have no echo or different levels of it, similar to real indoor spaces.

Participant Groups

Group I: Low-Reverberation Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Participants perform psychoacoustic tasks under a low-reverberant environment and a control environment without reverberation.

Group II: High-Reverberation Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Participants perform psychoacoustic tasks under a high-reverberant environment and a control environment without reverberation.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Father Flanagan's Boys' Home

Lead Sponsor

Trials

14

Recruited

1,600+

Findings from Research

In a study assessing speech recognition across different acoustic environments, subjects with varying degrees of sensorineural hearing impairment showed significant differences in their ability to understand speech, particularly in more reverberant conditions.

The study found that as hearing impairment increased, the negative effects of background noise and room reverberation on speech recognition also intensified, indicating that individuals with greater hearing loss may struggle more in challenging listening environments.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of reverberation and noise on speech recognition by adults with various amounts of sensorineural hearing impairment. Harris, RW., Swenson, DW.[2019]

Prior exposure to reverberant environments can enhance speech understanding, but this effect can quickly diminish with changes in the acoustic environment, particularly in late reverberation characteristics.

The study found that changes in early reflections within the same room did not disrupt the speech understanding effect, supporting the idea that the phenomenon is closely tied to the temporal modulation characteristics of the sound environment.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Speech intelligibility in rooms: Disrupting the effect of prior listening exposure. Brandewie, EJ., Zahorik, P.[2019]

The study found that a smartphone application can reliably measure classroom acoustics, making it a useful tool for assessing the sound environment in classrooms with children who are hard of hearing.

Many general education classrooms exceeded recommended noise levels set by the American National Standards Institute, highlighting the need for better noise management strategies to support speech perception for all students, especially those who are hard of hearing.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Use of an Application to Verify Classroom Acoustic Recommendations for Children Who Are Hard of Hearing in a General Education Setting. Spratford, M., Walker, EA., McCreery, RW.[2020]

Bilateral cochlear implant users showed significant benefits from binaural hearing advantages, particularly the head-shadow effect, in highly reverberant environments, although other advantages like spatial release from masking were minimal.

The study, involving 10 adults with postlingual deafness, found that reverberation negatively impacts binaural performance, suggesting that CI recipients may struggle more in everyday listening situations with high reverberation.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Binaural Speech Understanding With Bilateral Cochlear Implants in Reverberation. Kokkinakis, K.[2022]

Students with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) need to sit closer to the teacher in noisy classrooms, specifically between 4.35 m and 6.27 m, to achieve similar speech discrimination scores (SDS) as their normal-hearing peers.

In a study involving 75 participants (25 with UHL, 25 normal-hearing students, and 25 normal-hearing adults), the UHL group showed significantly lower SDS at various distances, highlighting the importance of optimal seating for effective communication in educational settings.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

How close should a student with unilateral hearing loss stay to a teacher in a noisy classroom? Noh, H., Park, YG.[2012]

A study measuring background noise and reverberation in 32 elementary classrooms found that most did not meet the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards for acoustical characteristics, which can negatively impact children's learning, especially those with hearing difficulties.

The research indicated that a simple checklist was ineffective in predicting which classrooms had higher levels of noise and reverberation, suggesting a need for more reliable assessment methods to improve classroom acoustics.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Background noise levels and reverberation times in unoccupied classrooms: predictions and measurements. Knecht, HA., Nelson, PB., Whitelaw, GM., et al.[2019]

Younger children have more difficulty recognizing speech in noisy and reverberant environments compared to older peers and adults, indicating they need better acoustic conditions for effective communication.

The study found that reverberation reduces the ability of children to release from masking noise, which is a crucial factor in understanding speech, highlighting the importance of minimizing noise and reverberation in classroom settings.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of reverberation on speech recognition in stationary and modulated noise by school-aged children and young adults. Wróblewski, M., Lewis, DE., Valente, DL., et al.[2021]

In a study of four different classroom types with 22-23 kindergarten children each, it was found that larger open plan classrooms had higher noise levels, which negatively impacted children's ability to perceive speech during tests.

As noise levels increased, children's accuracy and speed in speech perception tasks decreased, especially when seated further from the sound source, indicating that open plan classrooms may not be suitable for effective learning without proper acoustic design.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The effect of different open plan and enclosed classroom acoustic conditions on speech perception in Kindergarten children. Mealings, KT., Demuth, K., Buchholz, JM., et al.[2015]

In a study involving 12 cochlear implant recipients, speech intelligibility (SI) significantly decreased at longer distances from the speaker, particularly in small, highly reverberant rooms.

When background noise was present, the most disruptive type was anechoic noise due to its modulation, indicating that both room size and reverberation play crucial roles in how well CI users can understand speech.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of noise and reverberation on speech intelligibility for cochlear implant recipients in realistic sound environments. Badajoz-Davila, J., Buchholz, JM., Van-Hoesel, R.[2022]

In a study involving 34 normal-hearing and 14 hearing-impaired listeners, reverberation times of 0.9 seconds improved speech recognition for hearing-impaired individuals compared to longer reverberation and no reverberation, highlighting the importance of realistic listening conditions in testing.

Normal-hearing listeners did not show significant differences in performance across different reverberation conditions, suggesting that reverberation may have a more pronounced effect on those with hearing impairments.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

An exploratory investigation of speech recognition thresholds in noise with auralisations of two reverberant rooms. Kuusinen, A., Saariniemi, E., Sivonen, V., et al.[2021]

Subjects with single-sided deafness using cochlear implants (SSD-CI) showed no significant decline in sound localization accuracy when exposed to reverberation, maintaining similar performance in both free-field and reverberant conditions.

However, SSD-CI users experienced a greater deterioration in speech perception in noisy environments due to reverberation compared to normal-hearing individuals, indicating that while sound localization may be preserved, speech understanding remains more challenging for those with SSD-CI.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Impact of Reverberation on Speech Perception and Sound Localization Accuracy in Cochlear Implant Users With Single-Sided Deafness. Körtje, M., Eichenauer, A., Stöver, T., et al.[2023]

Users of bilateral cochlear implants (BCIs) showed significantly poorer ability to localize speech compared to individuals with normal hearing (NH) across various noise and reverberation conditions, indicating challenges in spatial hearing for BCI users.

BCI users began to struggle with speech localization at higher signal-to-noise ratios and shorter reverberation times than NH listeners, suggesting that improvements in cochlear implant processing strategies and rehabilitation plans are needed to enhance their listening experiences in noisy environments.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Combined Effects of Noise and Reverberation on Sound Localization for Listeners With Normal Hearing and Bilateral Cochlear Implants. Zheng, Y., Koehnke, J., Besing, J.[2022]

References

1. Switzerland pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of reverberation and noise on speech recognition by adults with various amounts of sensorineural hearing impairment. [2019]

2. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Speech intelligibility in rooms: Disrupting the effect of prior listening exposure. [2019]

3. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Use of an Application to Verify Classroom Acoustic Recommendations for Children Who Are Hard of Hearing in a General Education Setting. [2020]

4. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Binaural Speech Understanding With Bilateral Cochlear Implants in Reverberation. [2022]

5. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

How close should a student with unilateral hearing loss stay to a teacher in a noisy classroom? [2012]

6. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Background noise levels and reverberation times in unoccupied classrooms: predictions and measurements. [2019]

7. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of reverberation on speech recognition in stationary and modulated noise by school-aged children and young adults. [2021]

8. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The effect of different open plan and enclosed classroom acoustic conditions on speech perception in Kindergarten children. [2015]

9. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effect of noise and reverberation on speech intelligibility for cochlear implant recipients in realistic sound environments. [2022]

10. England pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

An exploratory investigation of speech recognition thresholds in noise with auralisations of two reverberant rooms. [2021]

11. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Impact of Reverberation on Speech Perception and Sound Localization Accuracy in Cochlear Implant Users With Single-Sided Deafness. [2023]

12. United States pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Combined Effects of Noise and Reverberation on Sound Localization for Listeners With Normal Hearing and Bilateral Cochlear Implants. [2022]