EEG activity as an objective measure of cognitive load during effortful listening: A study on pediatric subjects with bilateral, asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss

Objectives: Deaf subjects with hearing aids or cochlear implants generally find it challenging to understand
speech in noisy environments where a great deal of listening effort and cognitive load are invested.
In prelingually deaf children, such difficulties may have detrimental consequences on the learning
process and, later in life, on academic performance. Despite the importance of such a topic, currently,
there is no validated test for the assessment of cognitive load during audiological tasks. Recently, alpha
and theta EEG rhythm variations in the parietal and frontal areas, respectively, have been used as indicators
of cognitive load in adult subjects.
The aim of the present study was to investigate, by means of EEG, the cognitive load of pediatric subjects
affected by asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss as they were engaged in a speech-in-noise identification
task.
Methods: Seven