Different Attention Domains and Speech-in-Noise Performance: A Preliminary Study.

Purpose: The primary aim of this preliminary study was to explore the relationship between fiveattention domains, cognitive flexibility, and speech-in-noise (SIN) performance in both auditory-only(AO) and audiovisual (AV) modalities.
Methods: Ten younger and 10 middle-aged adult participants who had standard pure-tone averagesno greater than 15 dB HL completed the following three behavioral measures. The Multimodal LexicalSentence Test for Adults (Kirk et al, 2012) was used to evaluate speech-in-noise performance in AOand AV modalities. Two lists of 12 sentences were presented at a fixed 0-dB signal-to-noise ratio foreach of the AO and AV conditions. The Attention Processing Training test (Sohlberg and Mateer,2005) was administered to each participant, presented bilaterally at 60 dB HL via insert earphones toassess five domains of attention: sustained attention (I), complex sustained attention (II), selectiveattention (III), divided attention (IV), and alternating attention (V). The Comprehensive Trail-MakingTest, Second Edition (Reynolds, 2019) was administered to assess participants' inhibitory control andcognitive flexibility, which are heavily influenced by attention.
Results: Correlation and regression analyses of these sample data indicated a significant link betweenalternating attention and SIN performance in the auditory modality in the younger adults. This link wasnot observed in middle-aged adults, nor for audiovisual SIN performance.
Conclusions: In this study sample, younger individuals with better alternating attention abilities wereable to better use contextual information to understand speech in noisy situations without visual contextsupport. The younger adults capitalized on their alternating attention capacities to improve their auditory-onlySIN performance, whereas the middle-aged adults did not demonstrate this ability despite similar(sometimes better) alternating attention scores. Alternating attention was not used in the AV modality ineither group, possibly due to the simultaneous demand of visual and auditory inputs.