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When you strain to hear a conversation in a noisy restaurant, what’s happening inside your brain, and how does that affect your thinking skills? Those are the questions a University of Maryland study is asking in hopes of better understanding complicated hearing issues and ultimately what can be done to help.

Researchers in the Center for Advanced Study of Language are now looking for volunteers with normal hearing ages 65 to 85 to help them learn about how even those without hearing loss may be adversely affected by the extra effort required to hear in noisy environments. (Younger adults have already been tested.)

“At the end of an evening having difficulty following conversations, you might be completely drained and not able to perform your daily life functions,” said Stephanie Kuchinsky, the study’s principle investigator.

“There are implications about how people engage with their communities. To remain socially engaged is important, and it’s problematic if you have to withdraw from events because you can’t participate fully.”

The study, called the Effortful Communication Study and funded by the National Institutes of Health, takes place on the University of Maryland campus in College Park. The study involves two visits for a total of three to four hours.

During the first visit, potential participants will have their hearing tested to make sure it is in the normal range, and be given several cognitive tests.

Functional MRI tests

At the second visit, hearing and cognition tests will take place inside a functional MRI scanner. This machine is the same as a traditional MRI, but can measure how blood flows in the brain.

“We’re looking at how parts of the brain function; how the brain uses up its resources. When one area of the brain is working hard it needs more oxygen, so more blood will flow into it,” Kuchinsky said.

During the study in the MRI, participants will be asked to recognize words amid varying levels of background noise. They will also be asked to do that while multitasking, which is something often encountered in everyday life, Kuchinsky said.

“When communicating, it’s very rare that’s the only thing we’re doing. We might be driving and talking at the same time. This is another level as to why older adults might have problems,” she said.

In addition to gaining objective data about how the brain functions in these situations, the participants will report their subjective reactions. Pupil size will be measured during the tests to help gauge listening effort.

The results will help pinpoint what listening conditions are challenging for older adults and why it takes so much effort.

And while the test might sound daunting for older adults, even the younger participants had some trouble, according to Kuchinsky. The question is: How much more difficult do the tasks get with age?

Compensation offered

Those eligible for the study will receive $10 per hour for participating in behavioral tasks, such as computer-based tasks and surveys, and $15 per hour for tasks done in the MRI. There will be approximately one hour of behavioral tasks and 2.25 hours of neuroimaging, for a total of approximately $45.

Additional qualifications to participate include being right handed, and having vision that is normal or can be corrected to normal.

Those in the study cannot have speech/ language, neurological or psychiatric conditions, or learning disabilities. Because of the strong magnetic field used in the MRI machine, those with pacemakers and older implanted devices are not eligible for the study.

To learn more about the study or to volunteer, call (240) 630-0461 or email EffComLab@gmail.com

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