Fundamental frequency discriminability and utility in normal‐hearing listeners using noise‐excited vocoders

2004 ◽  
Vol 115 (5) ◽  
pp. 2390-2390
Author(s):  
Michael Qin ◽  
Andrew Oxenham
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Normal Hearing

Role of Fundamental Frequency Differences in the Perceptual Separation of Competing Vowel Sounds by Listeners With Normal Hearing and Listeners With Hearing Loss

1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 1434-1444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Hoberg Arehart ◽  
Catherine Arriaga King ◽  
Kelly S. McLean-Mudgett
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Average Increase ◽  
Identification Task ◽  
Vowel Identification ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Perceptual Separation

This study compared the ability of listeners with normal hearing and listeners with moderate to moderately-severe sensorineural hearing loss to use fundamental frequency differences (ΔF 0 ) in the identification of monotically presented simultaneous vowels. Two psychophysical procedures, double vowel identification and masked vowel identification, were used to measure identification performance as a function of ΔF 0 (0 through 8 semitones) between simultaneous vowels. Performance in the double vowel identification task was measured by the percentage of trials in which listeners correctly identified both vowels in a double vowel. The masked vowel identification task yielded thresholds representing signal-to-noise ratios at which listeners could just identify target vowels in the presence of a masking vowel. In the double vowel identification task, both listeners with normal hearing and listeners with hearing loss showed significant ΔF 0 benefit: Between 0 and 2 semitones, listeners with normal hearing showed an 18.5% average increase in performance; listeners with hearing loss showed a 16.5% average increase. In the masked vowel identification task, both groups showed significant ΔF 0 benefit. However, the mean benefit associated with ΔF 0 differences in the masked vowel task was more than twice as large in listeners with normal hearing 9.4 dB) when compared to listeners with hearing loss (4.4 dB), suggesting less ΔF 0 benefit in listeners with hearing loss. In both tasks, overall performance of listeners with hearing loss was significantly worse than performance of listeners with normal hearing. Possible reasons for reduced ΔF 0 benefit and decreased overall performance in listeners with hearing loss include reduced audibility of vowel sounds and deficits in spectro-temporal processing.

Children With Normal Hearing Are Efficient Users of Fundamental Frequency and Vocal Tract Length Cues for Voice Discrimination

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 182-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yael Zaltz ◽  
Raymond L. Goldsworthy ◽  
Laurie S. Eisenberg ◽  
Liat Kishon-Rabin
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Tract Length ◽  
Voice Discrimination

The Use of Voice Cues for Speaker Gender Recognition in Cochlear Implant Recipients

2016 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 546-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hartmut Meister ◽  
Katrin Fürsen ◽  
Barbara Streicher ◽  
Ruth Lang-Roth ◽  
Martin Walger
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Detailed Analysis ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Stimulus Type ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Vocal Tract ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Gender Recognition ◽  
Point Rating Scale ◽  
The Voice

PurposeThe focus of this study was to examine the influence of fundamental frequency (F0) and vocal tract length (VTL) modifications on speaker gender recognition in cochlear implant (CI) recipients for different stimulus types.MethodSingle words and sentences were manipulated using isolated or combined F0 and VTL cues. Using an 11-point rating scale, CI recipients and listeners with normal hearing rated the maleness/femaleness of the corresponding voice.ResultsSpeaker gender ratings for combined F0 and VTL modifications were similar across all stimulus types in both CI recipients and listeners with normal hearing, although the CI recipients showed a somewhat larger ambiguity. In contrast to listeners with normal hearing, F0-VTL and F0-only modifications revealed similar ratings in the CI recipients when using words as stimuli. However, when sentences were used, a difference was found between F0-VTL–based and F0-based ratings. Modifying VTL cues alone did not affect ratings in the CI group.ConclusionsWhereas speaker gender ratings by listeners with normal hearing relied on combined VTL and F0 cues, CI recipients made only limited use of VTL cues, which might be one reason behind problems with identifying the speaker on the basis of voice. However, use of the voice cues depended on stimulus type, with the greater information in sentences allowing a more detailed analysis than single words in both listener groups.

Perception of a Sung Vowel as a Function of Frequency-Modulation Rate and Excursion in Listeners With Normal Hearing and Hearing Impairment

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1961-1971
Author(s):  
Marianna Vatti ◽  
Sébastien Santurette ◽  
Niels Henrik Pontoppidan ◽  
Torsten Dau
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Frequency Modulation ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Musical Experience ◽  
Singing Voice ◽  
Modulation Rate ◽  
Frequency Changes

Purpose Frequency fluctuations in human voices can usually be described as coherent frequency modulation (FM). As listeners with hearing impairment (HI listeners) are typically less sensitive to FM than listeners with normal hearing (NH listeners), this study investigated whether hearing loss affects the perception of a sung vowel based on FM cues. Method Vibrato maps were obtained in 14 NH and 12 HI listeners with different degrees of musical experience. The FM rate and FM excursion of a synthesized vowel, to which coherent FM was applied, were adjusted until a singing voice emerged. Results In NH listeners, adding FM to the steady vowel components produced perception of a singing voice for FM rates between 4.1 and 7.5 Hz and FM excursions between 17 and 83 cents on average. In contrast, HI listeners showed substantially broader vibrato maps. Individual differences in map boundaries were, overall, not correlated with audibility or frequency selectivity at the vowel fundamental frequency, with no clear effect of musical experience. Conclusion Overall, it was shown that hearing loss affects the perception of a sung vowel based on FM-rate and FM-excursion cues, possibly due to deficits in FM detection or discrimination or to a degraded ability to follow the rate of frequency changes.

Masking release with changing fundamental frequency: Electric acoustic stimulation resembles normal hearing subjects

2017 ◽  
Vol 350 ◽  
pp. 226-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Barbara Auinger ◽  
Dominik Riss ◽  
Rudolfs Liepins ◽  
Tobias Rader ◽  
Tilman Keck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Stimulation ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Masking Release ◽  
Electric Acoustic Stimulation

The contribution of fundamental frequency, amplitude envelope, and voicing duration cues to speechreading in normal‐hearing subjects

1985 ◽  
Vol 77 (2) ◽  
pp. 671-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken W. Grant ◽  
LeeAnn H. Ardell ◽  
Patricia K. Kuhl ◽  
David W. Sparks
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Amplitude Envelope

scholarly journals Cortical compensation for hearing loss, but not age, in neural tracking of the fundamental frequency of the voice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jana Van Canneyt ◽  
Jan Wouters ◽  
Tom Francart
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Phase Locking ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Cortical Response ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Voice

AbstractAuditory processing is affected by advancing age and hearing loss, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. We investigated the effects of age and hearing loss on temporal processing of naturalistic stimuli in the auditory system. We analysed neural phase-locking to the fundamental frequency of the voice (f0) in 54 normal-hearing and 14 hearing-impaired adults between 17 and 82 years old. We found that both subcortical and cortical neural sources contributed to the responses. Results indicated that advancing age was related to smaller responses with less cortical response contributions, consistent with an age-related decrease in neural phase-locking ability. Conversely, hearing impaired subjects displayed larger responses compared to age-matched normal hearing controls. This was due to additional cortical response contributions which were stronger for participants with more severe hearing loss. This is consistent with the recruitment of additional cortical sources for auditory processing in persons with hearing impairment.

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