scholarly journals Using background noise to improve sound localization following simulated hearing loss

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Ryan-Warden ◽  
Eva Ng ◽  
Peter Keating
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sound Localization ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Unilateral Hearing Loss ◽  
Noisy Environments ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Neurophysiological Studies ◽  
Continuous Background

AbstractMany listening abilities become more difficult in noisy environments, particularly following hearing loss. Sound localization can be disrupted even if target sounds are clearly audible and distinct from background noise. Since subjects locate sounds by comparing the input to the two ears, sound localization is also considerably impaired by unilateral hearing loss. Currently, however, it is unclear whether the effects of unilateral hearing loss are worsened by background noise. To address this, we measured sound localization abilities in the presence or absence of broadband background noise. Adult human subjects of either sex were tested with normal hearing or with a simulated hearing loss in one ear (earplug). To isolate the role of binaural processing, we tested subjects with narrowband target sounds. Surprisingly, we found that continuous background noise improved narrowband sound localization following simulated unilateral hearing loss. By contrast, we found the opposite effect under normal hearing conditions, with background noise producing illusory shifts in sound localization. Previous attempts to model these shifts are inconsistent with behavioural and neurophysiological data. However, here we found that a simple hemispheric model of sound localization provides an explanation for our results, and provides key hypotheses for future neurophysiological studies. Overall, our results suggest that continuous background noise may be used to improve sound localization under the right circumstances. This has important implications for real-world hearing, both in normal-hearing subjects and the hearing-impaired.Significance StatementIn noisy environments, many listening abilities become more difficult, even if target sounds are clearly audible. For example, background noise can produce illusory shifts in the perceived direction of target sounds. Because sound localization relies on the two ears working together, it is also distorted by a hearing loss in one ear. We might therefore expect background noise to worsen the effects of unilateral hearing loss. Surprisingly, we found the opposite, with background noise improving sound localization when we simulated a hearing loss in one ear. A simple hemispheric model of sound localization also helped explain the negative effects of background noise under normal hearing conditions. Overall, our results highlight the potential for using background noise to improve sound localization.

scholarly journals Cochlear Implants in Patients with Fluctuant or Progressive Hearing Loss on the Better Ear

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Luiz Mangabeira-Albernaz ◽  
Andrea Felice dos Santos Malerbi
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Sound Localization ◽  
Unilateral Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Noisy Environments ◽  
Progressive Hearing Loss ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Unilateral Deafness ◽  
Definite Improvement

Abstract Introduction Cochlear implants have been proposed for cases of unilateral hearing loss, especially in patients with tinnitus impairment. Several studies have shown that they result in definite improvement of sound localization and speech understanding, both in quiet and noisy environments. On the other hand, there are few references regarding cochlear implants in patients whose better ears present hearing loss. Objective To report the audiological outcomes of three patients with unilateral deafness, in whom the better ears presented hearing losses, submitted to cochlear implants. Methods Three patients with unilateral profound hearing loss underwent a cochlear implant performed by the same surgeon. Results The patients' data are presented in detail. Conclusion The indications for cochlear implants are becoming more diverse with the expansion of clinical experience and the observation that they definitely help patients with special hearing problems.

Localization by unilateral BAHA users

2005 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
pp. 928-932 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack J. Wazen ◽  
Soha N. Ghossaini ◽  
Jaclyn B. Spitzer ◽  
Mary Kuller
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Prospective Study ◽  
Sound Localization ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Unilateral Hearing Loss ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Improve Performance ◽  
Average Accuracy ◽  
Laterality Judgment ◽  
Head Level

OBJECTIVES: Patients with unilateral hearing loss report difficulty hearing conversation on their impaired side, localizing sound, and understanding of speech in background noise. The bone-anchored cochlear stimulator (BAHA) (Entific, Gothenburg, Sweden) has been shown to improve performance in persons with unilateral severe-profound sensorineural loss (USNHL). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of BAHA in sound localization for USNHL listeners. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study of 12 USNHL subjects, 9 of whom received implants on the poorer hearing side. A control group of 10 normal hearing subjects were assessed for comparison. Localization with and without BAHA was assessed using an array of 8 speakers at head level separated by 45 degrees. Error analysis matrix was generated to evaluate the confusions, accuracy in response, and laterality judgment. RESULTS: The average accuracy of speaker localization was 16% in the unaided condition, with no improvement with BAHA use. Laterality judgment was poorer than 43% in both aided and nonaided conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with UNSNHL had poor sound localization and laterality judgment abilities that did not improve with BAHA use.

Sound Localization Acuity in Children with Unilateral Hearing Loss Who Wear a Hearing Aid in the Impaired Ear

2010 ◽  
Vol 21 (08) ◽  
pp. 522-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patti M. Johnstone ◽  
Anna K. Náblek ◽  
Velma S. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Early Intervention ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
Sound Localization ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Binaural Hearing ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Unilateral Hearing Loss ◽  
Older Children

Background: Disrupted binaural hearing is thought to contribute in part to the academic, social, and communication problems often associated with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) in childhood. It is not known, however, if putting a hearing aid in the impaired ear of a child with UHL will lead to bilateral or binaural benefit. This study seeks to utilize sound localization acuity measurements to assess hearing aid amplification efficacy in children with UHL. Purpose: To measure sound localization ability in children with UHL who use a hearing aid in the impaired ear to determine the extent to which amplification, age, early intervention, and degree of hearing loss affects localization acuity. Research Design: A within-subjects experimental design using repeated measures is used to determine the effect of amplification on localization acuity in children with UHL. A between-subjects experimental design is used to compare localization acuity between children with UHL and age-matched controls with normal hearing. Study Sample: Twelve children with UHL who used a hearing aid in the impaired ear and 12 age-matched controls with normal hearing. Children with UHL were divided into two groups based on degree of hearing loss. Children in both groups were divided into two age groups: older children (10–14 yr) and younger children (6–9 yr). Data Collection and Analysis: All testing was done in a sound-treated booth with a horizontal array of 15 loudspeakers (radius of 1 m). The stimulus was a spondee word, “baseball”: the level averaged 60 dB SPL and randomly roved (±8 dB). Each child was asked to identify the location of a sound source. Results: In the experimental study a significant interaction was found between hearing aid amplification and child age. A hearing aid significantly improved localization acuity in younger children with UHL and significantly impaired localization acuity in older children. A significant correlation was found between age at intervention and localization bilateral benefit. Children who were fit earlier showed bilateral benefit whereas children who were fit later showed bilateral interference. Development, however, may play a role in sound localization acuity. When unaided, older children had significantly better localization acuity than younger children with UHL. Conclusions: A hearing aid can provide bilateral localization benefit to some children with UHL. Early intervention may increase the likelihood of bilateral benefit. However, developmental factors appear to play a role in improving localization abilities over time for children with UHL. Nonetheless, without a means of establishing bilateral benefit with hearing aid amplification, localization performance in children with UHL will rarely equal that of peers.

scholarly journals Sound localization latency in normal hearing and simulated unilateral hearing loss

2020 ◽  
Vol 395 ◽  
pp. 108011
Author(s):  
Martin Eklöf ◽  
Filip Asp ◽  
Erik Berninger
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sound Localization ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Unilateral Hearing Loss

scholarly journals Distorted tonotopy severely degrades neural representations of natural speech in noise following acoustic trauma

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satyabrata Parida ◽  
Michael G. Heinz
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Noise Exposure ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Temporal Coding ◽  
Natural Speech ◽  
Auditory Nerve Fiber ◽  
Temporal Precision ◽  
Speech In Noise ◽  
Neurophysiological Studies

SUMMARYListeners with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) struggle to understand speech, especially in noise, despite audibility compensation. These real-world suprathreshold deficits are hypothesized to arise from degraded frequency tuning and reduced temporal-coding precision; however, peripheral neurophysiological studies testing these hypotheses have been largely limited to in-quiet artificial vowels. Here, we measured single auditory-nerve-fiber responses to a natural speech sentence in noise from anesthetized chinchillas with normal hearing (NH) or noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). Our results demonstrate that temporal precision was not degraded, and broader tuning was not the major factor affecting peripheral coding of natural speech in noise. Rather, the loss of cochlear tonotopy, a hallmark of normal hearing, had the most significant effects (both on vowels and consonants). Because distorted tonotopy varies in degree across etiologies (e.g., noise exposure, age), these results have important implications for understanding and treating individual differences in speech perception for people suffering from SNHL.

Unilateral Hearing Loss in Youth: Development of Candidate Items for a Condition-Specific Validated Instrument

2018 ◽  
Vol 159 (6) ◽  
pp. 1043-1050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia L. Purcell ◽  
Todd C. Edwards ◽  
Meghan Wisneski ◽  
Dylan K. Chan ◽  
Henry Ou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Sound Localization ◽  
Expert Panel ◽  
Assessment Instrument ◽  
Unilateral Hearing Loss ◽  
Specific Patient ◽  
Functional Impact ◽  
Noise Environment ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Functional Scores

Objective This study interviewed youth with unilateral hearing, utilizing their responses to generate candidate items for a condition-specific patient-reported instrument. Study Design Mixed methods, cross-sectional. Setting Tertiary care children’s hospital. Participants and Methods Youth with unilateral hearing loss and normal hearing in the contralateral ear were identified and recruited for participation through query of an audiometric database and through hearing loss clinics. Interviews with the youth were qualitatively analyzed to identify common themes and generate items related to functional impact. A multi-institutional expert panel reviewed items with prespecified item selection criteria. Participants rated items for impact on daily life. For preliminary criterion validity assessment, statistical analyses explored correlations between functional scores and type and severity of hearing loss. Results Thirty-nine youth aged 9 to 18 years with unilateral hearing loss participated; 31% used a hearing device. Fifteen youth participated in interviews; thematic analysis, item crafting, and expert panel item review resulted in 41 items. Twenty-six youth responded to the items, reporting low functional scores in the domains of sound localization, ear positioning, and noise environment. They reported better levels of function in carrying out group conversations, focusing on schoolwork, and feeling safe during activities. Multivariate linear regression found that youth scored 0.4 points (or approximately 8%) lower on the functional impact scale with every 20–dB HL increase in pure tone average in the abnormal ear. Conclusion Youth with unilateral hearing loss report functional impact, particularly related to sound localization, ear positioning, and noise environment; therefore, they may benefit from a condition-specific functional assessment instrument.

scholarly journals Impact of Unilateral Hearing Loss on Behavioral and Evoked Potential Measures of Auditory Function in Adults

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (07) ◽  
pp. 564-578
Author(s):  
Oscar M. Cañete ◽  
Suzanne C. Purdy ◽  
Colin R. S. Brown ◽  
Michel Neeff ◽  
Peter R. Thorne
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Recognition ◽  
Sound Localization ◽  
Auditory Evoked Potentials ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Unilateral Hearing Loss ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Self Perception ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Speech Detection

AbstractA unilateral hearing loss (UHL) can have a significant functional and social impact on children and adults, affecting their quality of life. In adults, UHL is typically associated with difficulties understanding speech in noise and sound localization, and UHL increases the self-perception of auditory disability for a range of listening situations. Furthermore, despite evidence for the negative effects of reduced unilateral auditory input on the neural encoding of binaural cues, the perceptual consequences of these changes are still not well understood.Determine effects of UHL on auditory abilities and speech-evoked cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs).CAEPs, sound localization, speech perception in noise and self-perception of auditory abilities (speech, spatial, and qualities hearing scale) were assessed.Thirteen adults with UHL with a range of etiologies, duration of hearing loss, and severity and a control group of eleven binaural listeners with normal hearing.Participants with UHL varied greatly in their ability to localize sound and reported speech recognition and listening effort were the greatest problem. There was a greater effect of right ear than left ear hearing loss on N1 amplitude hemispheric asymmetry and N1 latencies evoked by speech syllables in noise. As duration of hearing loss increased, contralateral dominance (N1 amplitude asymmetry) decreased. N1 amplitudes correlated with speech scores, larger N1 amplitudes were associated with better speech recognition in noise scores. N1 latencies are delayed (in the better ear) and amplitude hemisphere asymmetry differed across UHL participants as function of side of deafness, mainly for right-sided deafness.UHL affects a range of auditory abilities, including speech detection in noise, sound localization, and self-perceived hearing disability. CAEPs elicited by speech sounds are sensitive enough to evidence changes within the auditory cortex due to an UHL.

Modulation Detection Interference in Listeners With Normal and Impaired Hearing

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 392-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sid P. Bacon ◽  
Jane M. Opie
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Frequency Region ◽  
Unilateral Hearing Loss ◽  
Impaired Hearing ◽  
Sensation Level ◽  
Bilateral Hearing Loss ◽  
Cochlear Hearing Loss ◽  
Modulation Detection Interference

Listeners were asked to detect amplitude modulation (AM) of a target (or signal) carrier that was presented in isolation or in the presence of an additional (masker) carrier. The signal was modulated at a rate of 10 Hz, and the masker was unmodulated or was modulated at a rate of 2, 10, or 40 Hz. Nine listeners had normal hearing, 4 had a bilateral hearing loss, and 4 had a unilateral hearing loss; those with a unilateral loss were tested in both ears. The listeners with a hearing loss had normal hearing at 1 kHz and a 30- to 40-dB loss at 4 kHz. The carrier frequencies were 984 and 3952 Hz. In one set of conditions, the lower frequency carrier was the signal and the higher frequency carrier was the masker. In the other set, the reverse was true. For the impaired ears, the carriers were presented at 70 dB SPL. For the normal ears, either the carriers were both presented at 70 dB SPL or the higher frequency carrier was reduced to 40 dB SPL to simulate the lower sensation level experienced by the impaired ears. There was considerable individual variability in the results, and there was no clear effect of hearing loss. These results suggest that a mild, presumably cochlear hearing loss does not affect the ability to process AM in one frequency region in the presence of competing AM from another region.

Communication Development in Early-Identified Children With Mild Bilateral and Unilateral Hearing Loss

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Andrée Durieux-Smith ◽  
Isabelle Gaboury ◽  
Douglas Coyle ◽  
JoAnne Whittingham
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Longitudinal Study ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Ongoing Study ◽  
Unilateral Hearing Loss ◽  
Communication Development ◽  
Language Measures

Purpose This clinical focus article provides preliminary findings from a multicenter longitudinal study investigating auditory and communication development in children with mild bilateral or unilateral hearing loss of any degree. Method A total of 100 children (55 with mild bilateral or unilateral hearing loss and 45 with normal hearing) underwent 1 or more assessments from a battery of auditory and language measures. Results Children up to age 4 years demonstrated auditory and language skills similar to those of children with normal hearing. Conclusions Factors that affect outcomes in communication development will be explored as additional data are collected in this ongoing study.

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