Importance of low‐frequency on understanding interrupted speech: Sentence recognition of hearing‐impaired (HI) and normal‐hearing (NH) listeners

2005 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 1963-1963
Author(s):  
Su‐Hyun Jin ◽  
Peggy Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Low Frequency ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Sentence Recognition ◽  
Interrupted Speech

Frequency-Discrimination Ability of Hearing-Impaired Listeners

1981 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Zurek ◽  
C. Formby
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Frequency Modulation ◽  
Hearing Threshold ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Frequency Discrimination ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Discrimination Ability ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity

Thresholds for frequency modulation were measured by an adaptive, two-alternative, forced-choice method with ten listeners: eight who showed varying degrees of sensorineural hearing impairment, and two with normal-hearing sensitivity. Results for test frequencies spaced at octave intervals between 125 and 4000 Hz showed that, relative to normal-hearing listeners, the ability of the hearing-impaired listeners to detect a sinusoidal frequency modulation: (1) is diminished above a certain level of hearing loss; and (2) is more disrupted for low-frequency tones than for high-frequency tones, given the same degree of hearing loss at the test frequency. The first finding is consistent with that of previous studies which show a general deterioration of frequency-discrimination ability associated with moderate, or worse, hearing loss. It is proposed that the second finding may be explained: 1) by differential impairment of the temporal and place mechanisms presumed to, encode pitch at the lower and higher frequencies, respectively; and/or, 2) for certain configurations of hearing loss, by the asymmetrical pattern of cochlear excitation that may lead to the underestimation, from measurements of threshold sensitivity, of hearing impairment for low-frequency tones and consequently to relatively large changes in frequency discrimination for small shifts in hearing threshold.

Auditory and Audiovisual Reception of Words in Low-Frequency Noise by Children with Normal Hearing and by Children with Impaired Hearing

1971 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 496-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norman P. Erber
Keyword(s):  
Low Frequency ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Frequency Noise ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Impaired Hearing ◽  
Low Frequency Noise ◽  
Auditory Recognition ◽  
Auditory Detection ◽  
Impaired Group

Common words (monosyllables, trochees, spondees) were presented in low-frequency noise to children who attempted to detect their acoustic patterns or to recognize them under a range of acoustic speech-to-noise (S/N) ratios. Both profoundly deaf (−10 dB) and severely hearing-impaired children (−17 dB) required higher S/N ratios for auditory detection of words than did children with normal hearing (−23 dB). The normals (92%) were superior to the severely hearing-impaired group (57%) in auditory recognition of words in noise, while the deaf group (3%) were unable to recognize words by ear alone. The deaf group were poor even at classifying the stimulus words by stress pattern. Provision of acoustic cues increased the audio-visual (AV) scores of normal-hearing and severely hearing-impaired subjects 54% and 33% respectively above lipreading alone, but it improved the lipreading performance of profoundly deaf subjects only 9%. Improvement in AV recognition depended for all groups upon their detection of acoustic cues for speech. The profoundly deaf children achieved their maximum AV scores only at a higher S/N ratio (+5 dB) than that for the severely hearing-impaired group (0 dB), who in turn required a higher S/N ratio for maximum AV recognition than did the normals (−10 dB).

High-Level Psychophysical Tuning Curves

1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1233-1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Outer Hair Cell ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Frequency Resolution ◽  
Tuning Curves ◽  
Fitting Procedures ◽  
Cochlear Hearing Loss ◽  
High Level

Forward-masked psychophysical tuning curves (PTCs) were obtained for 1000-Hz probe tones at multiple probe levels from one ear of 26 normal-hearing listeners and from 24 ears of 21 hearing-impaired listeners with cochlear hearing loss. Comparisons between normal-hearing and hearing-impaired PTCs were made at equivalent masker levels near the tips of PTCs. Comparisons were also made of PTC characteristics obtained by fitting each PTC with three straight-line segments using least-squares fitting procedures. Abnormal frequency resolution was revealed only as abnormal downward spread of masking. The low-frequency slopes of PTCs from hearing-impaired listeners were not different from those of normal-hearing listeners. That is, hearing-impaired listeners did not demonstrate abnormal upward spread of masking when equivalent masker levels were compared. Ten hearing-impaired ears demonstrated abnormally broad PTCs, due exclusively to reduced high-frequency slopes in their PTCs. This abnormal downward spread of masking was observed only in listeners with hearing losses greater than 40 dB HL. From these results, it would appear that some, but not all, cochlear hearing losses greater than 40dB HL influence the sharp tuning capabilities usually associated with outer hair cell function.

Consonant-Recognition Patterns and Self-Assessment of Hearing Handicap

1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1397-1409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Goldschmidt Hustedde ◽  
Terry L. Wiley
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Error Patterns ◽  
Consonant Recognition ◽  
Recognition Ability ◽  
Hearing Handicap

Two companion experiments were conducted with normal-hearing subjects and subjects with high-frequency, sensorineural hearing loss. In Experiment 1, the validity of a self-assessment device of hearing handicap was evaluated in two groups of hearing-impaired listeners with significantly different consonant-recognition ability. Data for the Hearing Performance Inventory—Revised (Lamb, Owens, & Schubert, 1983) did not reveal differences in self-perceived handicap for the two groups of hearing-impaired listeners; it was sensitive to perceived differences in hearing abilities for listeners who did and did not have a hearing loss. Experiment 2 was aimed at evaluation of consonant error patterns that accounted for observed group differences in consonant-recognition ability. Error patterns on the Nonsense-Syllable Test (NST) across the two subject groups differed in both degree and type of error. Listeners in the group with poorer NST performance always demonstrated greater difficulty with selected low-frequency and high-frequency syllables than did listeners in the group with better NST performance. Overall, the NST was sensitive to differences in consonant-recognition ability for normal hearing and hearing-impaired listeners.

Speech Perception in Low-Pass Filtered Noise for Normal and Hearing-Impaired Listeners

1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia G. Stelmachowicz ◽  
Dawna E. Lewis ◽  
William J. Kelly ◽  
Walt Jesteadt
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Adaptive Procedure ◽  
Test Items ◽  
Fixed Level ◽  
Prosodic Cues ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Filtered Noise

Two experiments were conducted concerning speech perception in noise. In Experiment 1, a comparison was made between adaptive and fixed-level procedures to estimate the S/N ratio at which 50% correct performance occurred for nonsense syllables for normal-hearing listeners. The two methods yield similar S/N ratio estimates, but the consonant confusions found with the fixed-level method could not be predicted accurately from the adaptive procedure. In Experiment 2, the adaptive procedure was used to estimate the S/N ratio for a 50% performance level in low-pass filtered noise with a range of cutoff frequencies. Data were obtained from 5 normal-hearing listeners at two speech levels (50 and 75 dB SPL) and 4 hearing-impaired listeners at one speech level (75 dB SPL). The hearing-impaired listeners required a better S/N ratio than the normal listeners at either presentation level for all except the widest bandwidth, where their S/N ratios began to converge with the normal values. In addition, the S/N ratios for the hearing-impaired listeners plateaued at relatively narrow bandwidths (0.75 to 2.5 kHz) compared to the normal-hearing group (3.0 to 5.0 kHz). That is, the addition of high-frequency components to the noise did not alter performance. These findings suggest that the hearing-impaired listeners may have relied upon either low-frequency cues or prosodic cues in the perception of these test items.

Hearing Aid Amplification Reduces Communication Effort of People With Hearing Impairment and Their Conversation Partners

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 1299-1311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Beechey ◽  
Jörg M. Buchholz ◽  
Gitte Keidser
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Referential Communication ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Directional Hearing ◽  
Acoustic Environment ◽  
Communication Task ◽  
Acoustic Environments ◽  
The Impact

Objectives This study investigates the hypothesis that hearing aid amplification reduces effort within conversation for both hearing aid wearers and their communication partners. Levels of effort, in the form of speech production modifications, required to maintain successful spoken communication in a range of acoustic environments are compared to earlier reported results measured in unaided conversation conditions. Design Fifteen young adult normal-hearing participants and 15 older adult hearing-impaired participants were tested in pairs. Each pair consisted of one young normal-hearing participant and one older hearing-impaired participant. Hearing-impaired participants received directional hearing aid amplification, according to their audiogram, via a master hearing aid with gain provided according to the NAL-NL2 fitting formula. Pairs of participants were required to take part in naturalistic conversations through the use of a referential communication task. Each pair took part in five conversations, each of 5-min duration. During each conversation, participants were exposed to one of five different realistic acoustic environments presented through highly open headphones. The ordering of acoustic environments across experimental blocks was pseudorandomized. Resulting recordings of conversational speech were analyzed to determine the magnitude of speech modifications, in terms of vocal level and spectrum, produced by normal-hearing talkers as a function of both acoustic environment and the degree of high-frequency average hearing impairment of their conversation partner. Results The magnitude of spectral modifications of speech produced by normal-hearing talkers during conversations with aided hearing-impaired interlocutors was smaller than the speech modifications observed during conversations between the same pairs of participants in the absence of hearing aid amplification. Conclusions The provision of hearing aid amplification reduces the effort required to maintain communication in adverse conditions. This reduction in effort provides benefit to hearing-impaired individuals and also to the conversation partners of hearing-impaired individuals. By considering the impact of amplification on both sides of dyadic conversations, this approach contributes to an increased understanding of the likely impact of hearing impairment on everyday communication.

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