The extent to which cognitive training gains transfer to tasks that are only distally related to the training, called far transfer, remains an open question. However, though the available data support the claim that working memory capacity can be increased in older adults, it is less clear whether this increase would lead to improvements in speech perception in noise. Following training, older adults with mild cognitive impairment showed gains not only on measures of working memory but also on measures of cognitive health such as the Mini Mental State Exam ( Folstein et al., 1975) and the Dementia Rating Scale ( O'Bryant et al., 2008). Older adults with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment, a precursor to dementia, also show a benefit of cognitive training. More generalized cognitive training, which emphasizes working memory capacity, speed of processing, inhibitory control, and semantic memory has also been shown to improve working memory capacity in healthy older adults ( Ball et al., 2002). Older adults with no known cognitive impairment show increases in working memory capacity following working memory training ( Bherer et al., 2005 Li et al., 2008). Knowing that working memory capacity predicts speech perception in noise success suggests that one avenue for intervention may be cognitive training: increasing listeners' working memory capacity may lead to improved speech perception in noise performance.Ĭurrent knowledge supports the hypothesis that working memory capacity can be improved. As the population ages ( Kinsella and He, 2008), more individuals are likely to suffer from difficulties in speech perception in noise, making effective interventions increasingly necessary. Listeners with hearing aids, users of cochlear implants, as well as older adults with normal hearing, all complain of difficulty perceiving speech in noisy situations. Increasingly frequent complaints of speech perception difficulties in background noise have drawn attention to the relationship between working memory and speech perception in noise. Within an individual listener, working memory capacity is correlated with degree of listening effort and success perceiving speech in noise ( Koelewijn et al., 2014 Zekveld et al., 2011). In older adults who use hearing aids, greater working memory capacity also predicts more success recognizing speech in noise ( Foo et al., 2007 Lunner and Sundewall-Thorén, 2007). Working memory capacity successfully predicts speech recognition in noise by normal hearing older adults ( Gordon-Salant and Fitzgibbons, 1997 Parbery-Clark et al., 2009). For both individuals with normal hearing and individuals who use hearing aids, listeners with larger working memory capacities appear to have more success perceiving speech in noise. Additionally, it has become apparent that working memory plays a role in listeners' ability to perceive speech in noisy situations. Training working memory has received particular attention because larger working memory capacities have been linked to better academic performance, better language learning, and reduced incidence of pathological aging ( Klingberg, 2010 Morrison and Chein, 2010). Much of the interest in cognitive training has focused on improving working memory. Among other claims, improving one's cognitive performance has been suggested to lead to improved academic performance ( Klingberg, 2010), improved language learning ( Ingvalson and Wong, 2013), and reduced incidence of dementia ( Willis et al., 2006). Recent years have seen a surge of interest in cognitive training. These data suggest that working memory training may be used to improve listeners' speech perception in noise and that the materials may be quickly adapted to a wide variety of listeners. Reading span and speech perception in noise both significantly improved following training, whereas untrained controls showed no gains. Native Mandarin Chinese and native English speakers completed ten days of reversed digit span training. The current effort tested the hypothesis that working memory training would be associated with improved speech perception in noise and that materials would easily translate across languages. A further advantage of working memory training to improve speech perception in noise is that working memory training materials are often simple, such as letters or digits, making them easily translatable across languages. Current efforts to train working memory have demonstrated that working memory performance can be improved, suggesting that working memory training may lead to improved speech perception in noise. Working memory capacity has been linked to performance on many higher cognitive tasks, including the ability to perceive speech in noise.
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