Modeling the Relationship Between Listener Factors and Envelope Fidelity: A Pooled Analysis Spanning a Decade

The analysis of the pooled dataset identified sources of individual variability in aided speech intelligibility, while also overcoming limitations of smaller sample sizes in prior research. The model supported the hypothesis that speech intelligibility is affected by the cumulative envelope fidelity arising from a combination of background noise and hearing aid processing. The study findings indicate that individual variability in speech intelligibility with hearing aid processing is related to working memory after accounting for age and degree of hearing loss. The study highlights the need for individualized treatment of hearing loss beyond the pure tone audiogram. Auditory metrics such as the envelope fidelity metric used in the study may be useful tools in clinical decision-making.