Project outline
This project aims to develop our understanding of how noise impacts cognitive functioning, for example as measured by the change in a listener’s ability to perform a task in the presence of noise. Of particular interest is how the acoustic properties of noise impact our everyday thinking and productivity by consuming sensory and cognitive resources, and how hearing technology – like hearing aids and earbuds – can reduce this impact and recover cognitive performance.
Through research into cognition and attention the impact of sound on various auditory and non-auditory measures of core cognitive functioning has been well studied. There is also now a growing body of literature indicating that hearing aids, and the signal processing techniques they employ, can improve performance. By using both constructed and ecologically valid noise, the literature begins to identify what acoustic and semantic features in a sound produce these effects.
Using a mixture of behavioural and physiological measures to assess the change in participants’ cognitive load and performance, the objectives of this project are to further understand: (1) what makes a noise “cognitively challenging”; (2) how this impacts real-world tasks such as communicating or learning in noise; and (3) how this knowledge can be used to assess a hearing technology for its impact on cognition.
The effort involved in listening is a common complaint for hearing aid users. This project addresses the central aim of the Sustainable Sound Futures CDT program – to create a better sounding future – by helping to support the design of hearing technology with a focus on reducing the cognitive impact of noise, which in turn may reduce effort and fatigue and address the issues of dissatisfaction and social withdrawal.
Project Partners
This project is hosted at the University of Southampton.
Student
Jack Hallybone