  Understanding degraded speech is demanding, requiring increased listening
effort (LE). Evaluating processed and unprocessed speech with respect to LE can
objectively indicate if speech enhancement systems benefit listeners. However,
existing methods for measuring LE are complex and not widely applicable. In
this study, we propose a simple method to evaluate speech intelligibility and
LE simultaneously without additional strain on subjects or operators. We assess
this method using results from two independent studies in Norway and Denmark,
testing 76 (50+26) subjects across 9 (6+3) processing conditions. Despite
differences in evaluation setups, subject recruitment, and processing systems,
trends are strikingly similar, demonstrating the proposed method's robustness
and ease of implementation into existing practices.
