The effect of auditory training on speech-in-noise performance by elderly bilinguals in Singapore : a pilot study evaluating lace

Abstract

Auditory training has been found to be an essential compensatory strategy alongside hearing aids for rehabilitating impaired and aged auditory systems. Previous studies have attested to significant improvement in the performance of speech-in-noise processing by monolingual, native English speaking, hearing aid users after training in the Listening and Auditory Comprehension Enhancement (LACETM) programme, designed to improve listening and cognitive skills (Sweetow & Henderson-Sabes 2006; Olson 2010; Song et al. 2012). The LACE programme however has never been validated on non hearing impaired, non-native English speaking elderly bilinguals in a multilingual context like Singapore. In this pilot study, the effectiveness of LACE on a bilingual population is evaluated as four elderly Mandarin-English bilinguals undergo a two-week, computer-based, adaptive LACE programme. Quick speech-in-noise (QuickSIN) test results show overall improvement in speech-in-noise perception and despite within-subject differences in scores, encouraging trends serve as a platform for future research to investigate the long-term benefits of such training, as well as cross-linguistic influences on multilingual populations.