scholarly journals Speech Understanding in Noise by Patients With Cochlear Implants Using a Monaural Adaptive Beamformer

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (8) ◽  
pp. 2360-2363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Dorman ◽  
Sarah Natale ◽  
Anthony Spahr ◽  
Erin Castioni
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Hearing Preservation ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Cocktail Party ◽  
Test Protocol ◽  
Noise Environment ◽  
Adaptive Beamformer ◽  
Speech Understanding In Noise

Purpose The aim of this experiment was to compare, for patients with cochlear implants (CIs), the improvement for speech understanding in noise provided by a monaural adaptive beamformer and for two interventions that produced bilateral input (i.e., bilateral CIs and hearing preservation [HP] surgery). Method Speech understanding scores for sentences were obtained for 10 listeners fit with a single CI. The listeners were tested with and without beamformer activated in a “cocktail party” environment with spatially separated target and maskers. Data for 10 listeners with bilateral CIs and 8 listeners with HP CIs were taken from Loiselle, Dorman, Yost, Cook, and Gifford (2016), who used the same test protocol. Results The use of the beamformer resulted in a 31 percentage point improvement in performance; in bilateral CIs, an 18 percentage point improvement; and in HP CIs, a 20 percentage point improvement. Conclusion A monaural adaptive beamformer can produce an improvement in speech understanding in a complex noise environment that is equal to, or greater than, the improvement produced by bilateral CIs and HP surgery.

scholarly journals Using ILD or ITD Cues for Sound Source Localization and Speech Understanding in a Complex Listening Environment by Listeners With Bilateral and With Hearing-Preservation Cochlear Implants

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 810-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise H. Loiselle ◽  
Michael F. Dorman ◽  
William A. Yost ◽  
Sarah J. Cook ◽  
Rene H. Gifford
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Source Localization ◽  
Sound Source ◽  
Hearing Preservation ◽  
Sound Source Localization ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Cocktail Party ◽  
Localization Accuracy ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
High Pass

PurposeTo assess the role of interaural time differences and interaural level differences in (a) sound-source localization, and (b) speech understanding in a cocktail party listening environment for listeners with bilateral cochlear implants (CIs) and for listeners with hearing-preservation CIs.MethodsEleven bilateral listeners with MED-EL (Durham, NC) CIs and 8 listeners with hearing-preservation CIs with symmetrical low frequency, acoustic hearing using the MED-EL or Cochlear device were evaluated using 2 tests designed to task binaural hearing, localization, and a simulated cocktail party. Access to interaural cues for localization was constrained by the use of low-pass, high-pass, and wideband noise stimuli.ResultsSound-source localization accuracy for listeners with bilateral CIs in response to the high-pass noise stimulus and sound-source localization accuracy for the listeners with hearing-preservation CIs in response to the low-pass noise stimulus did not differ significantly. Speech understanding in a cocktail party listening environment improved for all listeners when interaural cues, either interaural time difference or interaural level difference, were available.ConclusionsThe findings of the current study indicate that similar degrees of benefit to sound-source localization and speech understanding in complex listening environments are possible with 2 very different rehabilitation strategies: the provision of bilateral CIs and the preservation of hearing.

Clinical trials of a hybrid adaptive beamformer (HAB) for improved speech understanding in noise

1999 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 1270-1270 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. L. Gibian ◽  
Walter Koroljow ◽  
Andy LaRow ◽  
Scott Shaw ◽  
Peggy Nelson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Adaptive Beamformer ◽  
Speech Understanding In Noise

scholarly journals Speech Understanding in Complex Listening Environments by Listeners Fit With Cochlear Implants

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (10) ◽  
pp. 3019-3026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Dorman ◽  
Rene H. Gifford
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Hearing Preservation ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
The Other ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Acoustic Hearing ◽  
Listening Environments

PurposeThe aim of this article is to summarize recent published and unpublished research from our 2 laboratories on improving speech understanding in complex listening environments by listeners fit with cochlear implants (CIs).MethodCI listeners were tested in 2 listening environments. One was a simulation of a restaurant with multiple, diffuse noise sources, and the other was a cocktail party with 2 spatially separated point sources of competing speech. At issue was the value of the following sources of information, or interventions, on speech understanding: (a) visual information, (b) adaptive beamformer microphones and remote microphones, (c) bimodal fittings, that is, a CI and contralateral low-frequency acoustic hearing, (d) hearing preservation fittings, that is, a CI with preserved low-frequency acoustic in the same ear plus low-frequency acoustic hearing in the contralateral ear, and (e) bilateral CIs.ResultsA remote microphone provided the largest improvement in speech understanding. Visual information and adaptive beamformers ranked next, while bimodal fittings, bilateral fittings, and hearing preservation provided significant but less benefit than the other interventions or sources of information. Only bilateral CIs allowed listeners high levels of speech understanding when signals were roved over the frontal plane.ConclusionsThe evidence supports the use of bilateral CIs and hearing preservation surgery for best speech understanding in complex environments. These fittings, when combined with visual information and microphone technology, should lead to high levels of speech understanding by CI patients in complex listening environments.Presentation Videohttp://cred.pubs.asha.org/article.aspx?articleid=2601622

scholarly journals Perception of Speech Produced by Native and Nonnative Talkers by Listeners with Normal Hearing and Listeners with Cochlear Implants

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 532-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caili Ji ◽  
John J. Galvin ◽  
Yi-ping Chang ◽  
Anting Xu ◽  
Qian-Jie Fu
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Native Culture ◽  
Sentence Recognition ◽  
Speech Understanding In Noise ◽  
Hearing In Noise ◽  
Noise Test ◽  
Intelligibility Ratings

Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the understanding of English sentences produced by native (English) and nonnative (Spanish) talkers by listeners with normal hearing (NH) and listeners with cochlear implants (CIs). Method Sentence recognition in noise was measured in adult subjects with CIs and subjects with NH, all of whom were native talkers of American English. Test sentences were from the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) database and were produced in English by four native and eight nonnative talkers. Subjects also rated the intelligibility and accent for each talker. Results The speech recognition thresholds in noise of subjects with CIs and subjects with NH were 4.23 dB and 1.32 dB poorer with nonnative talkers than with native talkers, respectively. Performance was significantly correlated with talker intelligibility and accent ratings for subjects with CIs but only correlated with talker intelligibility ratings for subjects with NH. For all subjects, performance with individual nonnative talkers was significantly correlated with talkers' number of years of residence in the United States. Conclusion CI users exhibited a larger deficit in speech understanding with nonnative talkers than did subjects with NH, relative to native talkers. Nonnative talkers' experience with native culture contributed strongly to speech understanding in noise, intelligibility ratings, and accent ratings of both listeners with NH and listeners with CIs.

Speech Understanding and Sound Source Localization by Cochlear Implant Listeners Using a Pinna-Effect Imitating Microphone and an Adaptive Beamformer

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (03) ◽  
pp. 197-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Dorman ◽  
Sarah Natale ◽  
Louise Loiselle
Keyword(s):  
Source Localization ◽  
Sound Source ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Adaptive Beamforming ◽  
Sound Source Localization ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Cocktail Party ◽  
Localization Accuracy ◽  
Adaptive Beamformer ◽  
Percentage Points

AbstractSentence understanding scores for patients with cochlear implants (CIs) when tested in quiet are relatively high. However, sentence understanding scores for patients with CIs plummet with the addition of noise.To assess, for patients with CIs (MED-EL), (1) the value to speech understanding of two new, noise-reducing microphone settings and (2) the effect of the microphone settings on sound source localization.Single-subject, repeated measures design. For tests of speech understanding, repeated measures on (1) number of CIs (one, two), (2) microphone type (omni, natural, adaptive beamformer), and (3) type of noise (restaurant, cocktail party). For sound source localization, repeated measures on type of signal (low-pass [LP], high-pass [HP], broadband noise).Ten listeners, ranging in age from 48 to 83 yr (mean = 57 yr), participated in this prospective study.Speech understanding was assessed in two noise environments using monaural and bilateral CIs fit with three microphone types. Sound source localization was assessed using three microphone types.In Experiment 1, sentence understanding scores (in terms of percent words correct) were obtained in quiet and in noise. For each patient, noise was first added to the signal to drive performance off of the ceiling in the bilateral CI-omni microphone condition. The other conditions were then administered at that signal-to-noise ratio in quasi-random order. In Experiment 2, sound source localization accuracy was assessed for three signal types using a 13-loudspeaker array over a 180° arc. The dependent measure was root-mean-score error.Both the natural and adaptive microphone settings significantly improved speech understanding in the two noise environments. The magnitude of the improvement varied between 16 and 19 percentage points for tests conducted in the restaurant environment and between 19 and 36 percentage points for tests conducted in the cocktail party environment. In the restaurant and cocktail party environments, both the natural and adaptive settings, when implemented on a single CI, allowed scores that were as good as, or better, than scores in the bilateral omni test condition. Sound source localization accuracy was unaltered by either the natural or adaptive settings for LP, HP, or wideband noise stimuli.The data support the use of the natural microphone setting as a default setting. The natural setting (1) provides better speech understanding in noise than the omni setting, (2) does not impair sound source localization, and (3) retains low-frequency sensitivity to signals from the rear. Moreover, bilateral CIs equipped with adaptive beamforming technology can engender speech understanding scores in noise that fall only a little short of scores for a single CI in quiet.

scholarly journals Localization and Speech Understanding by a Patient With Bilateral Cochlear Implants and Bilateral Hearing Preservation

2013 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Dorman ◽  
Anthony J. Spahr ◽  
Louise Loiselle ◽  
Ting Zhang ◽  
Sarah Cook ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Hearing Preservation ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Bilateral Cochlear Implants

scholarly journals Speech Understanding in Noise for Adults With Cochlear Implants: Effects of Hearing Configuration, Source Location Certainty, and Head Movement

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (5) ◽  
pp. 1306-1321 ◽  
Author(s):  
René H. Gifford ◽  
Louise Loiselle ◽  
Sarah Natale ◽  
Sterling W. Sheffield ◽  
Linsey W. Sunderhaus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Head Movement ◽  
Source Location ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Speech Understanding In Noise

scholarly journals Neural envelope tracking as a measure of speech understanding in cochlear implant users

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eline Verschueren ◽  
Ben Somers ◽  
Tom Francart
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Objective Measure ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Envelope Tracking ◽  
Actual Speech ◽  
Speech Envelope ◽  
Electroencephalogram Eeg ◽  
Automatic Fitting

ABSTRACTThe speech envelope is essential for speech understanding and can be reconstructed from the electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded while listening to running speech. This so-called neural envelope tracking has been shown to relate to speech understanding in normal hearing listeners, but has barely been investigated in persons wearing cochlear implants (CI). We investigated the relation between speech understanding and neural envelope tracking in CI users.EEG was recorded in 8 CI users while they listened to a story. Speech understanding was varied by changing the intensity of the presented speech. The speech envelope was reconstructed from the EEG using a linear decoder and then correlated with the envelope of the speech stimulus as a measure of neural envelope tracking which was compared to actual speech understanding.This study showed that neural envelope tracking increased with increasing speech understanding in every participant. Furthermore behaviorally measured speech understanding was correlated with participant specific neural envelope tracking results indicating the potential of neural envelope tracking as an objective measure of speech understanding in CI users. This could enable objective and automatic fitting of CIs and pave the way towards closed-loop CIs that adjust continuously and automatically to individual CI users.

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