Visual cognitive testing to predict speech-in-noise performance in individuals with normal hearing to mild hearing loss

Introduction. Previous research has shown that speech performance correlates with cognitive test performance and can predict outcomes after cochlear implantation. Since cognitive abilities for processing acoustic information are difficult to assess in hearing-impaired patients, we hypothesize that cognitive abilities for processing visual information can serve as a surrogate. Here, we validate a test battery for cognitive information processing in the visual system in subjects with normal hearing and mild hearing loss and assess their performance in processing speech in noisy listening environments. Methods Forty test subjects were recruited and consented to the study. For patients included in the study, hearing was assessed using pure-tone audiometry and a speech-in-noise test (QuickSIN). Cognitive tests included the Stroop Test and the Trail Making Test (TMT). Other tests that distorted the input signal and assessed word working memory included the word scramble (WS) and visual signal-to-noise ratio (visual SNR) tests. Results The correlation coefficient for the Stroop Test, which evaluates incongruent information naming colors, and the QuickSIN SNR loss was 0.71, while the correlation coefficient for the TMT-A, which involves connecting numbers from 1 through 25, was 0.68. The averaged results of both tests correlated with the QuickSIN SNR loss with a correlation coefficient of 0.75. Of the residuals, 90% ranged from − 1.5 to + 1.5 dB. Little to no correlation with the speech and noise test was found for the other tests. Discussion Visual tests for cognitive performance correlate well with outcomes from the QuickSIN SNR loss, with better predictive power after Stroop and TMT test results were averaged.