Examining the Interaction Effects of Fluid Intelligence, Visual Cue Reliance, and Hearing Aid Usage on Speech-in-Noise Recognition Abilities : An investigative study in hearing aid users

Abstract: Research within cognitive hearing science has throughout the years examined the relationship between speech recognition and cognitive functioning. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of hearing aid experience, fluid intelligence, and visual cues on speech-in-noise recognition. Data from the n200 database by Rönnberg et al. (2016) was analyzed to address two research problems: (1) whether the number of years of hearing aid use influence reliance on visual cues in speech-in-noise recognition and (2) how the relationship between fluid intelligence and reliance on visual cues changes depending on hearing aid use experience. Data from 214 participants with hearing impairment was analyzed using linear mixed effects models. No statistically significant interactions were observed in the results for both research questions. However, the results indicated that increased hearing aid experience, as well as the presence of visual cues resulted in better speech-in-noise recognition ability.