Spectral Contributions to the Benefit From Spatial Separation of Speech and Noise

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1297-1310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy R. Dubno ◽  
Jayne B. Ahlstrom ◽  
Amy R. Horwitz
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cutoff Frequency ◽  
Spatial Separation ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Noise Sources ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Interaural Level Differences ◽  
High Pass

Speech recognition in noise improves when speech and noise sources are separated in space. This benefit has two components whose effects are strongest in different frequency regions: (1) interaural level differences (e.g., head shadow), which are largest at higher frequencies, and (2) interaural time differences, which have their greatest contribution at lower frequencies. Binaural interactions enhance the separation of signals from noise through the use of these interaural differences. Here, the benefit attributable to spatial separation was measured as a function of the low- and high-pass cutoff frequency of speech and noise. Listeners were younger adults with normal hearing, older adults with normal hearing, and older adults with hearing loss. Binaural thresholds for narrowband noises were measured in quiet and in a speech-shaped masker as a function of masker low-pass cutoff frequency. Speech levels corresponding to 50% correct recognition of sentences from the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) were measured in a 65-dB SPL speech-shaped noise. Thresholds for narrowband noises and for speech were measured with two loudspeaker configurations: (1) signals and speech-shaped noise at 0° azimuth (in front of the listener) and (2) signals at 0° azimuth and speech-shaped noise at 90° azimuth (at the listener's side). The criterion measure was spatial separation benefit, or the difference in thresholds for the two conditions. Benefit of spatial separation for unfiltered speech averaged 6.1 dB for younger listeners with normal hearing, 4.9 dB for older listeners with normal hearing, and 2.7 dB for older listeners with hearing loss. Benefit was differentially affected by low-pass and high-pass filtering, suggesting a trade-off of the contributions of higher frequency interaural level differences and lower frequency interaural timing cues. As expected, older listeners with hearing loss benefited little from the improved signal-to-noise ratios in the higher frequencies resulting from head shadow, but showed some benefit from lower frequency cues. Spatial benefit for older listeners with normal hearing was reduced relative to benefit for younger listeners. This result may be related to older listeners' elevated thresholds at frequencies above 6.0 kHz.

A Comparison of the Effects of Filtering and Sensorineural Hearing Loss on Patterns of Consonant Confusions

1978 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn D. Wang ◽  
Charlotte M. Reed ◽  
Robert C. Bilger
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing ◽  
Essentially Normal ◽  
Phonological Features ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Sequential Information ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Pass

It has been found that listeners with sensorineural hearing loss who show similar patterns of consonant confusions also tend to have similar audiometric profiles. The present study determined whether normal listeners, presented with filtered speech, would produce consonant confusions similar to those previously reported for the hearing-impaired listener. Consonant confusion matrices were obtained from eight normal-hearing subjects for four sets of CV and VC nonsense syllables presented under six high-pass and six low-pass filtering conditions. Patterns of consonant confusion for each condition were described using phonological features in a sequential information analysis. Severe low-pass filtering produced consonant confusions comparable to those of listeners with high-frequency hearing loss. Severe high-pass filtering gave a result comparable to that of patients with flat or rising audiograms. And, mild filtering resulted in confusion patterns comparable to those of listeners with essentially normal hearing. An explanation in terms of the spectrum, the level of speech, and the configuration of the individual listener’s audiogram is given.

Reconstruction of the Audiogram Using Brain Stem Responses and High-Pass Noise Masking

1979 ◽  
Vol 88 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Don ◽  
Jos J. Eggermont ◽  
Derald E. Brackmann
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Brain Stem ◽  
Narrow Band ◽  
Pure Tone Audiometry ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Noise Masking ◽  
Specific Frequency ◽  
High Pass ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Air Conduction

Contributions to the brain stem electrical responses (BSER) presumably initiated from specific frequency regions of the cochlea with center frequencies similar to the major audiometric frequencies (0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 kHz) are derived by the application of a high-pass noise masking technique utilizing click stimuli. In normal hearing subjects, these derived narrow-band responses from the midfrequency regions (4, 2, and 1 kHz) can be recognized at click levels as low as 10 dB HL. For the frequency regions around 8 kHz and 0.5 kHz, these derived responses can be discerned at click levels of 30 dB HL and higher. When one uses the lowest click level at which these derived responses can be obtained from a given frequency region, the differences between a patient with a hearing loss and a normal hearing subject correlate well with the amount of hearing loss (air conduction) recorded by conventional pure tone audiometry. Use of the high-pass noise masking technique to reconstruct the audiogram may be of great potential value in assessing young children and other individuals who cannot or will not respond to conventional audiometry.

A Procedure for the Automatic Determination of Filter Cutoff Frequency for the Processing of Biomechanical Data

1999 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
John H. Challis
Keyword(s):  
White Noise ◽  
Autocorrelation Function ◽  
Cutoff Frequency ◽  
Human Movement ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Mathematical Functions ◽  
The Best Approximation ◽  
Second Derivatives ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
The Difference

This article presents and evaluates a new procedure that automatically determines the cutoff frequency for the low-pass filtering of biomechanical data. The cutoff frequency was estimated by exploiting the properties of the autocorrelation function of white noise. The new procedure systematically varies the cutoff frequency of a Butterworth filter until the signal representing the difference between the filtered and unfiltered data is the best approximation to white noise as assessed using the autocorrelation function. The procedure was evaluated using signals generated from mathematical functions. Noise was added to these signals so mat they approximated signals arising from me analysis of human movement. The optimal cutoff frequency was computed by finding the cutoff frequency that gave me smallest difference between the estimated and true signal values. The new procedure produced similar cutoff frequencies and root mean square differences to me optimal values, for me zeroth, first and second derivatives of the signals. On the data sets investigated, this new procedure performed very similarly to the generalized cross-validated quintic spline.

Cognition in older adults with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss compared to peers with normal hearing for age

2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 254-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Huber ◽  
Sebastian Roesch ◽  
Belinda Pletzer ◽  
Julia Lukaschyk ◽  
Anke Lesinski-Schiedat ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing

Interactive Effects of High-Pass Filtering and Masking Noise on Word Recognition

2005 ◽  
Vol 114 (11) ◽  
pp. 867-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saravanan Elangovan ◽  
Andrew Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Cutoff Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Noise Condition ◽  
High Pass

Objectives: This study sought to examine the word recognition performance in noise of individuals with a simulated low-frequency hearing loss. The goal was to understand how low-frequency hearing impairment affects performance on tasks that challenge temporal processing skills. Methods: Twenty-two normal-hearing young adults participated. Monosyllabic words were presented in continuous and interrupted noise at 3 signal-to-noise ratios of −10, 0, and +10 dB. High-pass filtering of the stimuli at 3 different cutoff frequencies (ie, 1,000, 1,250, and 1,500 Hz) simulated the low-frequency hearing impairment. Results: In general, performance decreased with increasing cutoff frequency, was higher for more favorable signal-to-noise ratios, and was superior in the interrupted condition relative to the continuous noise condition. One important revelation was that the magnitude of the performance superiority observed in the interrupted noise condition did not diminish with high-pass filtering; ie, the release from masking in interrupted noise was preserved. Conclusions: The results of the present study complement previous findings in which this paradigm was used with low-pass filtering to simulate a high-frequency hearing loss. That is to say, low-frequency hearing channels are inherently poorer than high-frequency channels in temporal resolution.

Seeing the Talker's Face Improves Free Recall of Speech for Young Adults With Normal Hearing but Not Older Adults With Hearing Loss

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 590-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Rudner ◽  
Sushmit Mishra ◽  
Stefan Stenfelt ◽  
Thomas Lunner ◽  
Jerker Rönnberg
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Free Recall ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Audiovisual Integration

Purpose Seeing the talker's face improves speech understanding in noise, possibly releasing resources for cognitive processing. We investigated whether it improves free recall of spoken two-digit numbers. Method Twenty younger adults with normal hearing and 24 older adults with hearing loss listened to and subsequently recalled lists of 13 two-digit numbers, with alternating male and female talkers. Lists were presented in quiet as well as in stationary and speech-like noise at a signal-to-noise ratio giving approximately 90% intelligibility. Amplification compensated for loss of audibility. Results Seeing the talker's face improved free recall performance for the younger but not the older group. Poorer performance in background noise was contingent on individual differences in working memory capacity. The effect of seeing the talker's face did not differ in quiet and noise. Conclusions We have argued that the absence of an effect of seeing the talker's face for older adults with hearing loss may be due to modulation of audiovisual integration mechanisms caused by an interaction between task demands and participant characteristics. In particular, we suggest that executive task demands and interindividual executive skills may play a key role in determining the benefit of seeing the talker's face during a speech-based cognitive task.

scholarly journals Talker Differences in Clear and Conversational Speech: Vowel Intelligibility for Older Adults With Hearing Loss

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 779-790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Hargus Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing ◽  
Conversational Speech ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Talker Variability ◽  
Speaking Style

Purpose To establish the range of talker variability for vowel intelligibility in clear versus conversational speech for older adults with hearing loss and to determine whether talkers who produced a clear speech benefit for young listeners with normal hearing also did so for older adults with hearing loss. Method Clear and conversational vowels in /bVd/ context produced by 41 talkers were presented in noise for identification by 40 older (ages 65–87 years) adults with sloping sensorineural hearing loss. Results Vowel intelligibility within each speaking style and the size of the clear speech benefit varied widely among talkers. The clear speech benefit was equivalent to that enjoyed by young listeners with normal hearing in an earlier study. Most talkers who had produced a clear speech benefit for young listeners with normal hearing also did so for the older listeners with hearing loss in the present study. However, effects of talker gender differed between listeners with normal hearing and listeners with hearing loss. Conclusion The clear speech vowel intelligibility benefit generated for listeners with hearing loss varied considerably among talkers. Most talkers who produced a clear speech benefit for normal-hearing listeners also produced a benefit for listeners with hearing loss.

Hearing Loss, Aging, and Speech Perception in Reverberation and Noise

1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen S. Helfer ◽  
Laura A. Wilber
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Loss ◽  
Pure Tone ◽  
Nonsense Syllable ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Reverberant Speech ◽  
Pure Tone Threshold

The present investigation examined the effect of reverberation and noise on the perception of nonsense syllables by four groups of subjects: younger (≤35 years of age) and older (>60 years of age) listeners with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss; younger, normal-hearing individuals; and older adults with minimal peripheral hearing loss. Copies of the Nonsense Syllable Test (Resnick, Dubno, Huffnung, & Levitt, 1975) were re-recorded under four levels of reverberation (0.0, 0.6, 0.9, 1.3 s) in quiet and in cafeteria noise at + 10 dB S:N. Results suggest that both age and amount of pure-tone hearing loss contribute to senescent changes in the ability to understand noisy, reverberant speech: pure-tone threshold and age were correlated negatively with performance in reverberation plus noise, although age and pure-tone hearing loss were not correlated with each other. Further, many older adults with minimal amounts of peripheral hearing loss demonstrated difficulty understanding distorted consonants.

Intelligibility of Filtered Synthetic Sentences

1967 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Speaks
Keyword(s):  
Low Frequency ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Frequency Filtering ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Frequency Bands ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
High Pass

The effects of frequency filtering on intelligibility of synthetic sentences were studied on three normal-hearing listeners. Performance-intensity (P-I) functions were defined for several low-pass and high-pass frequency bands. The data were analyzed to determine the interactions of signal level and frequency range on performance. Intelligibility of synthetic sentences was found to be quite dependent upon low-frequency energy. The important frequency for identification of the materials was approximately 725 Hz. These results are compared with previous findings concerning the intelligibility of single words in quiet and in noise.

scholarly journals Hearing Loss, Hearing Aid Use and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults – Findings from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aishwarya Shukla ◽  
Nicholas Reed ◽  
Nicole M Armstrong ◽  
Frank R Lin ◽  
Jennifer A Deal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities ◽  
Hearing Aid Use ◽  
Atherosclerosis Risk

Abstract OBJECTIVES Investigate the cross-sectional association between hearing loss (HL), hearing aid use, and depressive symptoms in community-dwelling older adults. METHOD The analytic sample consisted of 3188 participants (age range 71-94 years) in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS). Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association of audiometric hearing status and self-reported hearing aid use with depressive symptoms (11-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale). RESULTS 4.6% of participants had depressive symptoms. 40% had mild HL and 27% had moderate or greater HL. In multivariable-adjusted models, mild HL was associated with 1.90 times higher odds (95% Confidence Interval, [CI] 1.20-3.01) and moderate or greater HL with 2.42 times higher odds (95% CI 1.44-4.07) of depressive symptoms compared to normal hearing. Each 10dB increase in HL was associated with 1.30 higher odds of depressive symptoms (95% CI 1.14-1.49). Hearing aid use was not associated with depressive symptoms among those with mild (Odds Ratio [OR] 0.94, 95% CI 0.35-2.54) or moderate or greater (OR 1.12, 95% CI 0.60-2.11) HL. DISCUSSION Older adults with HL have higher odds of depressive symptoms compared to adults with normal hearing. Future studies are needed to assess whether hearing care is protective against depressive symptoms in older adults.

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