A Signal-to-Noise Ratio Model for the Speech-Reception Threshold of the Hearing Impaired

1986 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 146-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reinier Plomp
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Noise Level ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Threshold Elevation ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Speech Reception ◽  
Noise Ratio ◽  
Two Parameters

This paper reviews the results of a series of investigations inspired by a model of the speech-reception threshold (SRT) of hearing-impaired listeners. The model contains two parameters accounting for the SRT of normal-hearing listeners (SRT in quiet and signal-to-noise ratio corresponding to the threshold at high noise levels), two parameters describing the hearing loss (attenuation and threshold elevation in terms of signal-to-noise ratio), and three parameters describing the hearing aid (acoustic gain, threshold elevation expressed in signal-to-noise ratio, and equivalent internal noise level). Experimental data are reported for three different types of hearing impairment: presbycusis, hearing losses with a pathological origin, and noise-induced losses. The model gives an excellent description of the data. It demonstrates that for many hearing-impaired persons speech intelligibility at noise levels beyond 50 to 60 dB(A) is their main problem, whereas hearing aids are most effective below that noise level.

Speech Reception in the Presence of Classroom Noise

1979 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 221-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Smyth
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Speech Reception ◽  
Monosyllabic Words ◽  
Noise Ratio

Three hundred children from five to 12 years of age were required to discriminate simple, familiar, monosyllabic words under two conditions: 1) quiet, and 2) in the presence of background classroom noise. Of the sample, 45.3% made errors in speech discrimination in the presence of background classroom noise. The effect was most marked in children younger than seven years six months. The results are discussed considering the signal-to-noise ratio and the possible effects of unwanted classroom noise on learning processes.

Does Motion Perception Follow Weber's Law?

Perception ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes M Zanker
Keyword(s):  
Motion Perception ◽  
Stimulus Intensity ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Weber’S Law ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Weber's Law ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Noise Ratio ◽  
Random Dot Patterns

The subjective strength of a percept often depends on the stimulus intensity in a nonlinear way. Such coding is often reflected by the observation that the just-noticeable difference between two stimulus intensities (JND) is proportional to the absolute stimulus intensity. This behaviour, which is usually referred to as Weber's Law, can be interpreted as a compressive nonlinearity extending the operating range of a sensory system. When the noise superimposed on a motion stimulus is increased along a logarithmic scale (in order to provide linear steps in subjective difference) in motion-coherency measurements, observers often report that the subjective differences between the various noise levels increase together with the absolute level. This observation could indicate a deviation from Weber's Law for variation of motion strength as obtained by changing the signal-to-noise ratio in random-dot kinematograms. Thus JNDs were measured for the superposition of uncorrelated random-dot patterns on static random-dot patterns and three types of motion stimuli realised as random-dot kinematograms, namely large-field and object ‘Fourier’ motion (all or a group of dots move coherently), ‘drift-balanced’ motion (a travelling region of static dots), and paradoxical ‘theta’ motion (the dots on the surface of an object move in opposite direction to the object itself). For all classes of stimuli, the JNDs when expressed as differences in signal-to-noise ratio turned out to increase with the signal-to-noise ratio, whereas the JNDs given as percentage of superimposed noise appear to be similar for all tested noise levels. Thus motion perception is in accordance with Weber's Law when the signal-to-noise ratio is regarded as stimulus intensity, which in turn appears to be coded in a nonlinear fashion. In general the Weber fractions are very large, indicating a poor differential sensitivity in signal-to-noise measurements.

Auditory Frequency Selectivity in Normal and Presbycusic Subjects

1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 603-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert H. Margolis ◽  
Seth M. Goldberg
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Cutoff Frequency ◽  
Frequency Selectivity ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Critical Ratio ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Noise Masker ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Noise Ratio ◽  
Stable Estimate

Auditory frequency selectivity was inferred from measurements of the detectability of tonal signals as a function of the cutoff frequency of a low-pass computer-generated noise masker. In Experiment I the effect of small changes in signal-to-noise ratio on inferred auditory frequency selectivity was studied. In Experiment II, frequency selectivity was determined for five normal-hearing subjects and four subjects with sensorineural hearing loss due to presbycusis. Critical ratios (signal-to-noise ratio at masked threshold) also were determined in Experiment II. The results of Experiment I indicate that the low-pass masking experiment provides a stable estimate of the width, but not the position, of the critical masking band. Experiment II revealed elevated critical ratios for three of the four presbycusic subjects. Some hearing-impaired subjects appeared to have normal frequency selectivity despite elevated critical ratios. Other presbycusic subjects demonstrated impaired auditory frequency selectivity. The results suggest that critical ratio and critical masking band data are free to vary independently in hearing-impaired subjects.

Effects of reducing speech audibility on signal‐to‐noise‐ratio loss for hearing‐impaired listeners.

2010 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 2426-2426
Author(s):  
Peggy B. Nelson ◽  
Yingjiu Nie ◽  
Elizabeth Crump Anderson ◽  
Bhagyashree Katare
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Noise Ratio

Development of a quick speech-in-noise test for measuring signal-to-noise ratio loss in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners

2004 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 2395-2405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mead C. Killion ◽  
Patricia A. Niquette ◽  
Gail I. Gudmundsen ◽  
Lawrence J. Revit ◽  
Shilpi Banerjee
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Speech In Noise ◽  
Noise Test ◽  
Noise Ratio ◽  
Measuring Signal

A Test to Measure Subjective and Objective Speech Intelligibility

2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (01) ◽  
pp. 038-049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle H. Saunders ◽  
Kathleen M. Cienkowski
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Speech Reception ◽  
Measurement Signal ◽  
Perceptual Performance ◽  
Noise Ratio ◽  
Performance Discrepancy

Measurement of hearing aid outcome is particularly difficult because there are numerous dimensions to consider (e.g., performance, satisfaction, benefit). Often there are discrepancies between scores in these dimensions. It is difficult to reconcile these discrepancies because the materials and formats used to measure each dimension are so very different. We report data obtained with an outcome measure that examines both objective and subjective dimensions with the same test format and materials and gives results in the same unit of measurement (signal-to-noise ratio). Two variables are measured: a “performance” speech reception threshold and a “perceptual” speech reception threshold. The signal-to-noise ratio difference between these is computed to determine the perceptual-performance discrepancy (PPDIS). The results showed that, on average, 48 percent of the variance in subjective ratings of a hearing aid could be explained by a combination of the performance speech reception threshold and the PPDIS. These findings suggest that the measure is potentially a valuable clinical tool.

Detection and Recognition of Stop Consonants by Normal.Hearing and Hearing Impaired Listeners

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 942-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher W. Turner ◽  
David A. Fabry ◽  
Stephanie Barrett ◽  
Amy R. Horwitz
Keyword(s):  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Stop Consonants ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Masking Noise ◽  
Noise Ratio ◽  
Detection And Recognition

This study examined the possibility that hearing-impaired listeners, in addition to displaying poorer-than-normal recognition of speech presented in background noise, require a larger signal-to-noise ratio for the detection of the speech sounds. Psychometric functions for the detection and recognition of stop consonants were obtained from both normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners. Expressing the speech levels in terms of their short-term spectra, the detection of consonants for both subject groups occurred at the same signal-to-noise ratio. In contrast, the hearing-impaired listeners displayed poorer recognition performance than the normal-hearing listeners. These results imply that the higher signal-to-noise ratios required for a given level of recognition by some subjects with hearing loss are not due in part to a deficit in detection of the signals in the masking noise, but rather are due exclusively to a deficit in recognition.

Application of frequency-dependent multichannel Wiener filters to detect events in 2D three-component seismometer arrays

Geophysics ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. V133-V141 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Wang ◽  
F. Tilmann ◽  
R. S. White ◽  
P. Bordoni
Keyword(s):  
Least Squares Method ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Coherent Noise ◽  
Gas Field ◽  
Frequency Dependent ◽  
Wiener Filters ◽  
Noise Ratio

Hydraulic fracture-induced microseismic events in producing oil and gas fields are usually small, and noise levels are high at the surface as a result of the heavy equipment in use. Similarly, in nonhydrocarbon settings, arrays for detecting local earthquakes will benefit from reduced noise levels and the ability to detect smaller events will be increased. We propose a frequency-dependent multichannel Wiener filtering technique with linear constraints that uses an adaptive least-squares method to remove coherent noise in seismic array data. The noise records on several reference channels are used to predict the noise on a primary channel and then can be subtracted from the observed data. On a test with an unconstrained version of this filter, maximal noise suppression leads to signal distortion. Two methods of im-posing constraints then achieve signal preservation. In one case study, synthetic signals are added to noise from a pilot deployment of a hexagonal array (nine three-component seismometers, approximately [Formula: see text]) above a gas field; noise levels are suppressed by up to [Formula: see text] (at [Formula: see text]). In a second case study, natural seismicity recorded at a dense array ([Formula: see text] spacing) in Italy is used, where the application of the filter improves the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) more than [Formula: see text] (at [Formula: see text]) using 35 stations. In both cases, the performance of the multichannel Wiener filters is significantly better than stacking, espe-cially at lower frequencies where stacking does not help to suppress the coherent noise. The unconstrained version of the filter yields the best improvement in signal-to-noise ratio, but the constrained filter is useful when waveform distortion is unacceptable.

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