Hearing support to reduce listening effort at work: An EEG study

A prolonged exposition to an acoustically challenging environment can cause cognitive fatigue. Service- and support centers are examples of work environments where this is particularly relevant. In several guidelines (E-VDI 2569:2016-02 and ISO 3382-3:2012-05), the focus is to avoid deleterious aftereffects of irrelevant speech by means of room acoustical interventions, such as shielding and zoning. In service- and support centers however it is furthermore important to ensure good speech quality for the agent to reduce listening effort. Technical assistance systems can improve speech intelligibility and alleviate listening effort. Hearing support tailored to the individuals hearing ability and listening preference, built into the telephone, is an example of such an assistance system. In the current study the effect of an individualized hearing support technology on listening effort was evaluated by means of recording an electroencephalogram (EEG). Via a simulated telephone connection participants listened to sentences in noise and answered questions regarding the content. In trials with hearing support, activity in the EEG-alpha frequency band (9-10 Hz) was reduced significantly, indicating a decrease in listening effort. The results suggest that an individualized hearing support offers a possibility to ease acoustically induced mental load and is a tool to improve the working conditions in service- and support centers.