Comet Calendar

Callier FLASH Seminar in Speech, Language and Hearing

Title: The Effect of Auditory Training on Listening Effort With Cochlear Implant Simulations

Speaker: Seeon Kim, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate, UT Dallas

The limited spectral and temporal resolution of cochlear implants (CIs) negatively affects speech recognition of CI users in background noise and leads to increased listening effort. Listening effort is the allocation of cognitive resources to overcome the obstacles in listening tasks and also involves the mo-tivational and emotional responses to the task demands in daily life. Although targeted auditory training has been shown to improve CI users’ speech recognition, the effect of auditory training on listening effort in CI users is still unknown. This study investigates whether phoneme-recognition training may improve the accuracy while reducing the listening effort of sentence recognition in noise with CI simulation. Listening effort was measured using three different measures: (1) dual-task paradigm, (2) pupil diameter, and (3) self-report. While phoneme recognition training in adaptive background noise improved sentence recognition in noise, listening effort remained unchanged after training. In contrast, listening effort tends to be reduced for those who have not undergone auditory training. This result suggests that phoneme recognition training may have motivated listeners to stay focused on the challenging task of sentence recognition in noise.

Seeon Kim is a new Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Callier Center, working in Dr. Linda Thibodeau’s Hearing Health laboratory. She earned her PhD in Speech and Hearing Science from Arizona State University under the mentorship of Dr. Xin Luo. Prior to her PhD, she worked as an audiologist at a hearing aid center in South Korea, primarily serving elderly patients with hearing loss. She holds her bachelor’s degrees in Electronic Engineering and English Literature from Soongsil University in South Korea, and a master’s degree in Audiology from Hallym University of Graduate Studies, South Korea. Her research interests include hearing devices such as cochlear implants and hearing aids, auditory training and innovative approaches to evaluating device outcomes.

The talk on Friday, January 24, 2025 at 12:00pm - 1pm will be a hybrid talk, in-person in CD A229 and also on MS Teams. 

MS Teams link
Meeting ID: 230 730 485 959
Passcode: M8hF9HN9

Callier Center Dallas 1966 Inwood Rd Dallas, TX 75235

Behavioral and Brain Sciences
Tiffani Kreybig
Email

UTD strives to create inclusive and accessible events in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you require an accommodation to fully participate in this event, please contact the event coordinator (listed above) at least 10 business days prior to the event. If you have any additional questions, please email ADACoordinator@utdallas.edu and the AccessAbility Resource Center at accessability@utdallas.edu.

  • Jonathan Steinberg
  • Jerry Williams

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