@article{8cceb8d1fbd6486eb22e0bc701964e48,
title = "Olivocochlear efferent contributions to speech-in-noise recognition across signal-to-noise ratios",
abstract = "The medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent system modifies cochlear output to aid signal detection in noise, but the precise role of efferents in speech-in-noise understanding remains unclear. The current study examined the contribution of the MOC reflex for speech recognition in noise in 30 normal-hearing young adults (27 females, mean age = 22.7 yr). The MOC reflex was assessed using contralateral inhibition of transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions. Speech-in-noise perception was evaluated using the coordinate response measure presented in ipsilateral speech-shaped noise at signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) ranging from -12 to 0 dB. Performance was assessed without and with the presence of contralateral noise to activate the MOC reflex. Performance was significantly better with contralateral noise only at the lowest SNR. There was a trend of better performance with increasing contralateral inhibition at the lowest SNR. Threshold of the psychometric function was significantly correlated with contralateral inhibition. Response time on the speech task was not significantly correlated with contralateral inhibition. Results suggest that the MOC reflex contributes to listening in low SNRs and the relationship between the MOC reflex and perception is highly dependent upon the task characteristics.",
author = "Mertes, {Ian B.} and Johnson, {Kristin M.} and Dinger, {Zo{\"e} A.}",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by grants to I.B.M. from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Foundation (2017 New Investigators Research Grant) and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Arnold O. Beckman Award). The funding agencies were not involved in the research design, data collection, data analysis, or dissemination of the results. K.M.J. received a travel award from the American Auditory Society (AAS) to present portions of this work at the 45th Annual Scientific and Technology Conference of the AAS. The authors thank the participants for their time and effort, Dr. Marjorie R. Leek and attendees of the 2018 AAS poster session for helpful discussions regarding this research, and Dr. Frederick J. Gallun for providing custom MATLAB code for the CRM. A recent study from our group (Mertes, 2018) reported the methodology and results for contralateral inhibition of TEOAEs in response to unmodulated and modulated contralateral noises presented at 50 and 60 dB(A). We included previous contralateral inhibition data obtained in response to unmodulated broadband Gaussian noise at 60 dB(A) for 24 participants (as well as 6 additional participants in the current study). Because our previous study did not examine the association between contralateral inhibition and speech-in-noise perception, inclusion of these data represents a new application of the data. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Acoustical Society of America.",
year = "2019",
month = mar,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1121/1.5094766",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "145",
pages = "1529--1540",
journal = "Journal of the Acoustical Society of America",
issn = "0001-4966",
publisher = "Acoustical Society of America",
number = "3",
}