# Investigating the Relationship between Objective Measures of Binaural Hearing and Speech-in-Noise Performance in Middle-Aged Listeners

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2020 · $136,890

## Abstract

Abstract
 A common complaint reported by middle-aged patients seeking audiologic services is an emergent
decline in speech-in-noise (SIN) perception. Paradoxically, many of these patients demonstrate normal
hearing thresholds or mild hearing loss that is incommensurate with the severity of their complaints. The
standard audiologic test battery fails to provide these patients with answers regarding the etiology of their
deficits and leaves audiologists with no objective information upon which to base counseling and treatment
recommendations. To improve the standard of hearing care for these patients – a key mission of the NIDCD –
more sophisticated and easily implementable clinical tools are needed.
 Over the past decade, advances in hearing science have led to more sophisticated tests to understand
potential SIN deficits, including those that evaluate cochlear health, neural processing, and cognition.
Surprisingly, binaural hearing — a key contributor to real-world SIN performance requiring exquisite neural
temporal processing ability — has yet to be incorporated into these clinical batteries. Recent evidence
indicates that deficits in binaural hearing may begin in middle age (30-60 years) in parallel with the emergence
of SIN complaints, supporting the idea that it might underlie some patients' SIN deficits. Despite a large
experimental literature on psychophysical tests of binaural hearing, however, an efficient and reliable clinical
assay of binaural hearing function currently does not exist.
hearing
goals,
processing
Further,
hearing
broad goals of this research are to 1) develop objective (electrophysiologic) indices of binaural
 acuity and 2) investigate relationships between these indices and SIN performance. To achieve these
a comprehensive test battery including auditory evoked potentials will be used to examine neural
 of binaural timing cues to simple (tones) and complex (speech) stimuli in middle-aged adults.
the relationship between these measures and SIN perceptual performance on tests requiring binaural
will be investigated. 
The
The long-term goal of this research is not only to understand how binaural hearing
acuity influences real-world perception but to develop easily administered objective clinical tests of binaural
hearing function. Such tests would improve diagnostics and would also be beneficial for verifying and fine-
tuning binaural hearing aid and cochlear implant fittings.
 This Mentored Career Development Award will provide the mentee with additional structured training
and experience in three core areas: 1) Focused research on the neurophysiology of binaural hearing, 2)
Advanced training in clinical investigation (including coursework through Northwestern University Feinberg
School of Medicine's Master in Clinical Investigation program), and 3) Scientific Communication. These
training experiences will allow the mentee to achieve his long-term career objective of becoming an
independent clinician-scientist.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9987587
- **Project number:** 5K01DC017192-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Spencer Smith
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $136,890
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2022-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9987587

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9987587, Investigating the Relationship between Objective Measures of Binaural Hearing and Speech-in-Noise Performance in Middle-Aged Listeners (5K01DC017192-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9987587. Licensed CC0.

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