Trends in Hearing · Published 2025-09-01 · DOI 10.1177/23312165251393034
Persons with hearing aids or cochlear implants often have difficulty understanding speech well, especially in noisy environments. Auditory perceptual training can help improve an individual's ability to discriminate and identify sound. The current study aimed to determine the efficacy of the ALICE (Assistant for Listening and Communication Enhancement) program, a self-guided home-based hearing care program including monitoring, training and counseling. A multicentric study was carried out, including hearing aid centers and a cochlear implant center in Flanders (Belgium). Adult participants were randomly assigned to an intervention ( n = 65) or a control ( n = 65) group. Participants in the intervention group received a tailored flow of exercises that could be streamed to the device or presented in a sound field. All participants were tested before and after 8 weeks using sentences in noise and different self-report questionnaires. Participants in the intervention group were compliant during the 8-week training period. Significant on-task improvements were observed, along with improved speech-in-noise understanding for the intervention group only. The self-report data did not reveal changes following the intervention. Our clinical trial demonstrates that the self-guided ALICE training program is effective at improving the auditory system's ability to parse untrained speech in noise. This enhancement in speech-in-noise performance is specific to the training group, as the control group did not show any improvement. The results of the clinical trial imply that ALICE can be used as a scalable, accessible, and safe hearing care intervention.
Abstract from DOAJ. Public domain (CC0 1.0).
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