scholarly journals The effects of high‐frequency masking bands on midfrequency frequency discrimination

1979 ◽  
Vol 66 (S1) ◽  
pp. S9-S9
Author(s):  
M. E. Stanton ◽  
D. A. Nelson
2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mai M. El Ghazaly ◽  
Mona I. Mourad ◽  
Nesrine H. Hamouda ◽  
Mohamed A. Talaat

Abstract Background Speech perception in cochlear implants (CI) is affected by frequency resolution, exposure time, and working memory. Frequency discrimination is especially difficult in CI. Working memory is important for speech and language development and is expected to contribute to the vast variability in CI speech reception and expression outcome. The aim of this study is to evaluate CI patients’ consonants discrimination that varies in voicing, manner, and place of articulation imparting differences in pitch, time, and intensity, and also to evaluate working memory status and its possible effect on consonant discrimination. Results Fifty-five CI patients were included in this study. Their aided thresholds were less than 40 dBHL. Consonant speech discrimination was assessed using Arabic consonant discrimination words. Working memory was assessed using Test of Memory and Learning-2 (TOMAL-2). Subjects were divided according to the onset of hearing loss into prelingual children and postlingual adults and teenagers. Consonant classes studied were fricatives, stops, nasals, and laterals. Performance on the high frequency CVC words was 64.23% ± 17.41 for prelinguals and 61.70% ± 14.47 for postlinguals. These scores were significantly lower than scores on phonetically balanced word list (PBWL) of 79.94% ± 12.69 for prelinguals and 80.80% ± 11.36 for postlinguals. The lowest scores were for the fricatives. Working memory scores were strongly and positively correlated with speech discrimination scores. Conclusions Consonant discrimination using high frequency weighted words can provide a realistic tool for assessment of CI speech perception. Working memory skills showed a strong positive relationship with speech discrimination abilities in CI.


1989 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rastatter ◽  
Marie Watson ◽  
Dianna Strauss-Simmons

This study measured the ability of 16 aged listeners, normal for their age (age range, 63 to 84 yr.) to discriminate phonemic contrasts in sentential stimuli (Subtest 13 of the Carrow-Auditory Visual Abilities Test) presented at 50% time-compression rate. A series of linear regression analyses were performed in which each independent variable was regressed against the continuous variable of age. Over-all performance on the time-compressed task significantly decreased as a function of age. Also discrimination of place of articulation and mid- to high-frequency contrasts was significantly and negatively related to age In general, such findings suggest that the course of aging continuously imposes degrading effects on speech-processing that are related to discrimination of place feature contrasts.


2016 ◽  
Vol 130 (8) ◽  
pp. 717-729 ◽  
Author(s):  
U A Kumar ◽  
S R Deepashree

AbstractObjectives:To measure the output sound pressure levels of personal music systems and evaluate their effect on hearing.Methods:Output sound pressure levels at preferred volume settings and listening environment were measured using a manikin. Effects of personal music system use on hearing were evaluated using pure tone audiometry (in conventional and extended high frequency ranges), transient evoked otoacoustic emissions, syllable identification in noise, intensity discrimination, frequency discrimination and temporal modulation transfer function.Results:Results showed, alarmingly, that large proportions of young adults are using personal music systems at levels higher than the safety limits set by regulatory bodies. Individuals who listened to personal music systems at levels higher than 80 dB LAeq exhibited poorer extended high frequency thresholds, reduced transient evoked otoacoustic emission amplitudes, poorer frequency discrimination, reduced modulation detection thresholds at 32 Hz modulation frequency, and reduced syllable identification in noise at −5 dB signal-to-noise ratio. Listening levels were significantly correlated with extended high frequency thresholds and transient evoked otoacoustic emission amplitudes.Conclusion:These results suggest that listening to music through personal music systems at higher volume levels may be hazardous to hearing.


Author(s):  
W. E. Lee ◽  
A. H. Heuer

IntroductionTraditional steatite ceramics, made by firing (vitrifying) hydrous magnesium silicate, have long been used as insulators for high frequency applications due to their excellent mechanical and electrical properties. Early x-ray and optical analysis of steatites showed that they were composed largely of protoenstatite (MgSiO3) in a glassy matrix. Recent studies of enstatite-containing glass ceramics have revived interest in the polymorphism of enstatite. Three polymorphs exist, two with orthorhombic and one with monoclinic symmetry (ortho, proto and clino enstatite, respectively). Steatite ceramics are of particular interest a they contain the normally unstable high-temperature polymorph, protoenstatite.Experimental3mm diameter discs cut from steatite rods (∼10” long and 0.5” dia.) were ground, polished, dimpled, and ion-thinned to electron transparency using 6KV Argon ions at a beam current of 1 x 10-3 A and a 12° angle of incidence. The discs were coated with carbon prior to TEM examination to minimize charging effects.


Author(s):  
G. Y. Fan ◽  
J. M. Cowley

It is well known that the structure information on the specimen is not always faithfully transferred through the electron microscope. Firstly, the spatial frequency spectrum is modulated by the transfer function (TF) at the focal plane. Secondly, the spectrum suffers high frequency cut-off by the aperture (or effectively damping terms such as chromatic aberration). While these do not have essential effect on imaging crystal periodicity as long as the low order Bragg spots are inside the aperture, although the contrast may be reversed, they may change the appearance of images of amorphous materials completely. Because the spectrum of amorphous materials is continuous, modulation of it emphasizes some components while weakening others. Especially the cut-off of high frequency components, which contribute to amorphous image just as strongly as low frequency components can have a fundamental effect. This can be illustrated through computer simulation. Imaging of a whitenoise object with an electron microscope without TF limitation gives Fig. 1a, which is obtained by Fourier transformation of a constant amplitude combined with random phases generated by computer.


Author(s):  
M. T. Postek ◽  
A. E. Vladar

Fully automated or semi-automated scanning electron microscopes (SEM) are now commonly used in semiconductor production and other forms of manufacturing. The industry requires that an automated instrument must be routinely capable of 5 nm resolution (or better) at 1.0 kV accelerating voltage for the measurement of nominal 0.25-0.35 micrometer semiconductor critical dimensions. Testing and proving that the instrument is performing at this level on a day-by-day basis is an industry need and concern which has been the object of a study at NIST and the fundamentals and results are discussed in this paper.In scanning electron microscopy, two of the most important instrument parameters are the size and shape of the primary electron beam and any image taken in a scanning electron microscope is the result of the sample and electron probe interaction. The low frequency changes in the video signal, collected from the sample, contains information about the larger features and the high frequency changes carry information of finer details. The sharper the image, the larger the number of high frequency components making up that image. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analysis of an SEM image can be employed to provide qualitiative and ultimately quantitative information regarding the SEM image quality.


1992 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 52-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail L. MacLean ◽  
Andrew Stuart ◽  
Robert Stenstrom

Differences in real ear sound pressure levels (SPLs) with three portable stereo system (PSS) earphones (supraaural [Sony Model MDR-44], semiaural [Sony Model MDR-A15L], and insert [Sony Model MDR-E225]) were investigated. Twelve adult men served as subjects. Frequency response, high frequency average (HFA) output, peak output, peak output frequency, and overall RMS output for each PSS earphone were obtained with a probe tube microphone system (Fonix 6500 Hearing Aid Test System). Results indicated a significant difference in mean RMS outputs with nonsignificant differences in mean HFA outputs, peak outputs, and peak output frequencies among PSS earphones. Differences in mean overall RMS outputs were attributed to differences in low-frequency effects that were observed among the frequency responses of the three PSS earphones. It is suggested that one cannot assume equivalent real ear SPLs, with equivalent inputs, among different styles of PSS earphones.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1S) ◽  
pp. 209-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Campbell ◽  
Alison LaBrec ◽  
Connor Bean ◽  
Mashhood Nielsen ◽  
Won So

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