Speech Perception in Noise in Individuals With Tinnitus: Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes
Ear and Hearing, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1097/aud.0000000000001896
- Dergi Adı: Ear and Hearing
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, MLA International Bibliography
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Cognitive function, Extended high-frequency hearing thresholds, Spatial auditory processing, Speech-in-noise perception, Tinnitus
- Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Objectives: – To evaluate speech-in-noise and spatial listening performance in patients with tinnitus by examining the potential contributions of top-down and bottom-up processes. Design: – Thirty-one patients with tinnitus and 31 age-matched controls without tinnitus (participants with normal hearing), aged 18 to 60 years, underwent audiological evaluation. All participants completed the Listening in Spatialized Noise–Universal Test to assess speech-in-noise performance under different spatial conditions and cognitive tests (Serial Digit Learning and Stroop) to assess attention and memory. Results: – Hearing thresholds did not differ significantly between groups (p > 0.05), although a significant main effect of frequency was observed (p < 0.001). Participants with tinnitus demonstrated poorer speech-in-noise performance than controls across both colocated and spatially separated listening conditions [F(1, 60) = 12.53, p = 0.001], whereas spatial advantage (t = 1.08, p = 0.28) and cognitive performance (all p > 0.05) were comparable between groups. Conclusions: – Patients with tinnitus demonstrated poorer speech-in-noise performance than controls in both spatially separated and colocated listening conditions. Spatial advantage and cognitive test performance were comparable between groups, suggesting that the between-group difference in speech-in-noise performance was evident across both listening conditions rather than being limited to spatial cue utilization.