Effect of brain injury history on relationships between speech understanding and self-report

It is not uncommon for patients with a history of concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) to report auditory symptoms, including speech understanding difficulties, despite having normal peripheral hearing sensitivity. Previous work in this area has identified deficits in central auditory processing measures after mTBI. However, performance has not been predictive of self-reported symptom severity, which limits our understanding of mechanisms that underlie perceived difficulties. This disconnect may be due to the heterogenous nature of mTBI symptoms, requiring greater consideration for individual differences that could impact relationships between self-report and measured performance. Rather than categorically separating participants into an experimental group based solely on the presence of mTBI, the current study used a continuous variable to represent mTBI history while exploring relationships between self-reported symptoms and performance on a speech-on-speech spatial release from masking task. Self-reported mTBI symptom severity was measured using the Concussion Symptom Subtype Inventory and spatial release from masking was measured in the Portable Automated Rapid Testing application. Responses from 50 mTBI participants were analyzed. This work represents a first step toward better characterizing variability across mTBI patients in research aimed at identifying the effects of brain injury on auditory function. [Work supported by R01DC018166.]