Remote characterization of auditory and cognitive processing
E. Sebastian Lelo de Larrea-Mancera, Aaron R. Seitz, Frederick J. Gallun, G. Christopher Stecker, William J. Bologna, Eric C. Hoover, Katherine N. Menon, Audrey Anna Carrillo, Tess K. Koerner · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 2024
Previous research has demonstrated that remote testing of suprathreshold auditory function using distributed technologies can produce results that closely match those obtained in laboratory settings with a specialized, calibrated equipment. This work has facilitated internet-based recruitment of participants and the validation of various behavioral measures that provide valuable insights into auditory function. These measures include aspects of auditory processing, self-reported hearing difficulties, and cognition. In this study, we used the portable psychophysics assessment tool (PART) along with online participant recruitment to test a wide variety of audition-relevant measures in those with (n = 92) and without (n = 100) self-reported hearing loss. We assessed each measure’s ability to discriminate between these two groups, as well as their reliability and multi-variate relationships. We found that several measures of auditory processing effectively differentiated between the groups. All previously tested measures showed similar test–retest reliabilities with this online approach. Additionally, multi-variate relationships, including cognition and self-reported hearing, were strikingly consistent across groups. In sum, this work further validates remote testing as a reliable general methodology.