scholarly journals Affective Properties of Mothers' Speech to Infants With Hearing Impairment and Cochlear Implants

2015 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 590-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria V. Kondaurova ◽  
Tonya R. Bergeson ◽  
Huiping Xu ◽  
Christine Kitamura
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Affective Quality ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Maternal Speech ◽  
Speech Information ◽  
Filtered Speech ◽  
Fine Tune

Purpose The affective properties of infant-directed speech influence the attention of infants with normal hearing to speech sounds. This study explored the affective quality of maternal speech to infants with hearing impairment (HI) during the 1st year after cochlear implantation as compared to speech to infants with normal hearing. Method Mothers of infants with HI and mothers of infants with normal hearing matched by age (NH-AM) or hearing experience (NH-EM) were recorded playing with their infants during 3 sessions over a 12-month period. Speech samples of 25 s were low-pass filtered, leaving intonation but not speech information intact. Sixty adults rated the stimuli along 5 scales: positive/negative affect and intention to express affection, to encourage attention, to comfort/soothe, and to direct behavior. Results Low-pass filtered speech to HI and NH-EM groups was rated as more positive, affective, and comforting compared with the such speech to the NH-AM group. Speech to infants with HI and with NH-AM was rated as more directive than speech to the NH-EM group. Mothers decreased affective qualities in speech to all infants but increased directive qualities in speech to infants with NH-EM over time. Conclusions Mothers fine-tune communicative intent in speech to their infant's developmental stage. They adjust affective qualities to infants' hearing experience rather than to chronological age but adjust directive qualities of speech to the chronological age of their infants.

Magnitude-Estimation Scaling: An Effective Method for the Measurement of the Quality of Filtered Speech

1994 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 348-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald Fucci ◽  
Steve Domyan ◽  
Lee Ellis ◽  
Daniel Harris
Keyword(s):  
Magnitude Estimation ◽  
Speech Stimulus ◽  
Stimulus Quality ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Filtered Speech ◽  
High Pass

17 subjects provided magnitude estimations in the form of quality judgments of a filtered speech stimulus which was a nonsense sentence containing all of the consonants of English from Fairbanks. It was presented to subjects at 8 high-pass and 8 low-pass filtering conditions. Consistent magnitude estimations to the filtered stimulus were similar for both conditions. Also, for both conditions, subjects' numerical responses consistently increased in value as stimulus quality was judged to be poorer.

The Effect of Hearing Loss on the Perception of Infant- and Adult-Directed Speech

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 1108-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susie Robertson ◽  
Deborah von Hapsburg ◽  
Jessica S. Hay
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Speech Signal ◽  
Developmentally Appropriate ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Chronological Age ◽  
Fixation Preference ◽  
Central Fixation

Purpose Infant-directed speech (IDS) facilitates language learning in infants with normal hearing, compared to adult-directed speech (ADS). It is well established that infants with normal hearing prefer to listen to IDS over ADS. The purpose of this study was to determine whether infants with hearing impairment (HI), like their NH peers, show a listening preference for IDS over ADS. Method A total of 36 infants—9 HI infants (mean chronological age of 19.1 with mean listening age of 7.7 months), 9 NH infants with similar average listening age (7.8 months), and 9 NH infants with similar average chronological age (18.6 months)—were tested on their listening preference for IDS compared with ADS using the central fixation preference procedure. Results Infants with HI significantly preferred listening to IDS over ADS. The preference for IDS was also seen in the younger NH infants, but not older NH controls. Additionally, HI infants showed shorter overall looking times as compared to either NH group. Conclusion Although infants with hearing loss displayed a shorter looking time to speech compared to NH controls, HI infants nonetheless appear to have sufficient access to the speech signal to display a developmentally appropriate preference for IDS over ADS.

Development of speech-like vocalizations in a child with congenital absence of cochleas: The case of total deafness

1989 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael P. Lynch ◽  
D. Kimbrough Oller ◽  
Michele Steffens
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Early Infancy ◽  
Congenital Absence ◽  
Rapid Improvement ◽  
Intermittent Exposure ◽  
The Subject ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Speech Information ◽  
Total Deafness

ABSTRACTIn order to assess the effect of total deafness on vocalization development, tape recorded utterances of a 3-year-old child who was born without cochleas were examined. In the beginning of the study, the subject's speech consisted almost exclusively of small numbers of sounds characteristic of early infancy. Across the study, the subject participated in extensive vocal stimulation activities. He also initially received intermittent exposure to tactile speech information via a 16-channel vocoder and, subsequently, a 2-channel tactile aid. Following introduction of the 2-channel aid, the subject made rapid improvement in the quality of his vocalizations, which consisted increasingly of speech-like utterances, including well-formed or canonical syllables. These results suggest that, although hearing impairment slows the onset of canonical babbling, even total deafness does not preclude its eventual appearance.

Quality of life, effort and disturbance perceived in noise: A comparison between employees with aided hearing impairment and normal hearing

2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (9) ◽  
pp. 642-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håkan Hua ◽  
Jan Karlsson ◽  
Stephen Widén ◽  
Claes Möller ◽  
Björn Lyxell
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Normal Hearing

scholarly journals Contributions of Low- and High-Frequency Sensorineural Hearing Deficits to Speech Intelligibility in Noise

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Verhulst ◽  
Anna Warzybok
Keyword(s):  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Stimulus Frequency ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Impaired Hearing ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Speech Information ◽  
High Pass

ABSTRACTThe degree to which supra-threshold hearing deficits affect speech recognition in noise is poorly understood. To clarify the role of hearing sensitivity in different stimulus frequency ranges, and to test the contribution of low- and high-pass speech information to broadband speech recognition, we collected speech reception threshold (SRTs) for low-pass (LP < 1.5 kHz), high-pass (HP > 1.6 kHz) and broadband (BB) speech-in-noise stimuli in 34 listeners. Two noise types with similar long-term spectra were considered: stationary (SSN) and temporally modulated noise (ICRA5-250). Irrespective of the tested listener group (i.e., young normal-hearing, older normal- or impaired-hearing), the BB SRT performance was strongly related to the LP SRT. The encoding of LP speech information was different for SSN and ICRA5-250 noise but similar for HP speech, suggesting a single noise-type invariant coding mechanism for HP speech. Masking release was observed for all filtered conditions and related to the ICRA5-250 SRT. Lastly, the role of hearing sensitivity to the SRT was studied using the speech intelligibility index (SII), which failed to predict the SRTs for the filtered speech conditions and for the older normal-hearing listeners. This suggests that supra-threshold hearing deficits are important contributors to the SRT of older normal-hearing listeners.

An Across-Frequency Processing Deficit in Listeners With Hearing Impairment Is Supported by Acoustic Correlation

2005 ◽  
Vol 48 (5) ◽  
pp. 1236-1242 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric W. Healy ◽  
Anand Kannabiran ◽  
Sid P. Bacon
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing ◽  
Acoustic Stimuli ◽  
Temporal Asynchrony ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing Impairment ◽  
Processing Deficit ◽  
Additional Support ◽  
Speech Information

It has been recently suggested that listeners having a sensorineural hearing impairment (HI) may possess a deficit in their ability to integrate speech information across different frequencies. When presented with a task that required across-frequency integration of speech patterns, listeners with HI performed more poorly than their normal-hearing (NH) counterparts (E. W. Healy & S. P. Bacon, 2002; C. W. Turner, S.-L. Chi, & S. Flock, 1999). E. W. Healy and S. P. Bacon (2002) also showed that performance of the listeners with HI fell more steeply when increasing amounts of temporal asynchrony were introduced to the pair of widely separated patterns. In the current study, the correlations between the fluctuating envelopes of the acoustic stimuli were calculated, both when the patterns were aligned and at various between-band asynchronies. It was found that the rate at which acoustic correlation fell as a function of asynchrony closely matched the rate at which intelligibility fell for the NH listeners. However, the intelligibility scores produced by the listeners with HI fell more steeply than the acoustic analysis would suggest. Thus, these data provide additional support for the hypothesis that individuals having sensorineural HI may have a deficit in their ability to integrate speech information present at different frequencies.

Hearing Aid Amplification Reduces Communication Effort of People With Hearing Impairment and Their Conversation Partners

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1299-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Beechey ◽  
Jörg M. Buchholz ◽  
Gitte Keidser
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Referential Communication ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Directional Hearing ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Communication Task ◽  
Acoustic Environments ◽  
The Impact

Objectives This study investigates the hypothesis that hearing aid amplification reduces effort within conversation for both hearing aid wearers and their communication partners. Levels of effort, in the form of speech production modifications, required to maintain successful spoken communication in a range of acoustic environments are compared to earlier reported results measured in unaided conversation conditions. Design Fifteen young adult normal-hearing participants and 15 older adult hearing-impaired participants were tested in pairs. Each pair consisted of one young normal-hearing participant and one older hearing-impaired participant. Hearing-impaired participants received directional hearing aid amplification, according to their audiogram, via a master hearing aid with gain provided according to the NAL-NL2 fitting formula. Pairs of participants were required to take part in naturalistic conversations through the use of a referential communication task. Each pair took part in five conversations, each of 5-min duration. During each conversation, participants were exposed to one of five different realistic acoustic environments presented through highly open headphones. The ordering of acoustic environments across experimental blocks was pseudorandomized. Resulting recordings of conversational speech were analyzed to determine the magnitude of speech modifications, in terms of vocal level and spectrum, produced by normal-hearing talkers as a function of both acoustic environment and the degree of high-frequency average hearing impairment of their conversation partner. Results The magnitude of spectral modifications of speech produced by normal-hearing talkers during conversations with aided hearing-impaired interlocutors was smaller than the speech modifications observed during conversations between the same pairs of participants in the absence of hearing aid amplification. Conclusions The provision of hearing aid amplification reduces the effort required to maintain communication in adverse conditions. This reduction in effort provides benefit to hearing-impaired individuals and also to the conversation partners of hearing-impaired individuals. By considering the impact of amplification on both sides of dyadic conversations, this approach contributes to an increased understanding of the likely impact of hearing impairment on everyday communication.

scholarly journals Identification of Ocular and Auditory Manifestations of Congenital Rubella Syndrome in Mbingo

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imran Jivraj ◽  
Chris J. Rudnisky ◽  
Emmanuel Tambe ◽  
Graham Tipple ◽  
Matthew T. S. Tennant
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Congenital Rubella Syndrome ◽  
Congenital Glaucoma ◽  
Fundus Photography ◽  
Igg Antibody ◽  
Case Definitions ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Congenital Rubella

Purpose. Congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) is a global cause of preventable hearing impairment, blindness, and intellectual impairment. The present study sought to identify ocular and auditory manifestations of CRS in school-aged children in Mbingo, Cameroon.Design. Cross sectional study.Subjects. Students at two schools, one for children with hearing impairment, were screened for cataract, congenital glaucoma, and pigmentary retinopathy.Methods. Students underwent seven-field digital fundus photography through a dilated pupil using a Topcon NW200 nonmydriatic camera. Images were assessed by retina specialists in Canada via teleophthalmology. Clinical evidence was integrated to form case definitions for CRS based on Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Serological evidence of rubella infection was obtained using standardized IgG antibody titers.Main Outcome Measure. Number of probable and suspicious cases of CRS.Results. Between September 2009 and May 2010, 320 students participated. There were 28 (10.2%) probable cases, 104 (37.8%) suspects, and 143 (52.0%) unaffected. Rubella IgG serology was positive in 79 (48.7%) of children with hearing impairment and 11 (7.4%) of children with normal hearing.Conclusions. The present study identified 28 probable cases of CRS. Furthermore, 92.6% of students with normal hearing did not possess rubella IgG antibodies making future cases of CRS likely without intervention.

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