Acoustic analysis of voice in children with cochlear implants

Introduction. The focus of this study was the analysis of objective acoustic characteristics of voice in children with cochlear implants. The objective of this study was to compare acoustic parameters of voice in children with cochlear implants and normal hearing children of the same age, and to determine differences, if there were any. Material and Methods. There were 60 children (aged from 6 to 13) included in this prospective study. They were divided into 2 groups: children with cochlear implants (30) and normal hearing children with normal speech development (30). The most stable voice sample was analyzed using a software program Dr Speech: Vocal Assessment. Objective acoustic analysis of voice included 13 acoustic parameters. Results. Standard deviation of fundamental frequency was significantly (p=0.000) higher in children with cochlear implants, as well as the values of harmonic to noise ratio (p=0.003) and signal to noise ratio (p=0.000) parameters. Values of jitter %, shimmer %, normalized noise energy, fundamental frequency tremor and amplitude tremor showed no significant differences between the two groups. However, the values of parameters that refer to voice frequency (habitual fundamental frequency, mean fundamental frequency, min fundamental frequency and max fundamental frequency) and the mean value of voice intensity (p=0.004), were significantly higher in the boys and the girls with cochlear implants than in the normal hearing children. Conclusion. Gender non-related parameters of hoarseness did not show significant differences between the children with cochlear implants and the normal hearing children; the results of cochlear implantation and voice and speech education were therefore positive. However, the children with cochlear implants of both gender showed significantly higher values of voice intensity, voice pitch and insufficient control of voice pitch variation.

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Vocal therapy with larynx compression after partial laryngectomy

Medicinski pregled ◽

10.2298/mpns1108357m ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 64 (7-8) ◽

pp. 357-361 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gordana Mumovic

Keyword(s):

Fundamental Frequency ◽

Signal To Noise Ratio ◽

Frequency Standard ◽

Partial Laryngectomy ◽

Manual Compression ◽

Acoustic Parameters ◽

Voice Analysis ◽

Acoustic Voice Analysis ◽

Group I ◽

Noise Ratio

The aim of the study was to establish the effects of the vocal therapy by manual compression of the larynx on dysphonia due to a partial laryngectomy and compare them with the effects of the standard vocal therapy. The prospective study included 66 patients submitted to any partial laryngectomy type. The patients were randomly classified into two groups: Group I (33) receiving the standard vocal therapy, and Group II (33) submitted to larynx compression vocal therapy. The 6-week vocal treatment was performed. The treatment effects were evaluated by subjective and objective voice analysis methods. The subjective and objective acoustic voice analysis revealed a significant influence (p<0.05) of either of the two vocal therapy modes on initial dysphonia. The larynx compression vocal therapy had better effects on the acoustic parameters: habitual fundamental frequency, mean fundamental frequency, standard deviation of fundamental frequency, maximal fundamental frequency, harmonics-to-noise ratio, and signal-to-noise ratio.

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Effects of Fundamental Frequency Contours on Sentence Recognition in Mandarin-Speaking Children With Cochlear Implants

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00033 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (11) ◽

pp. 3855-3864

Author(s):

Wanting Huang ◽

Lena L. N. Wong ◽

Fei Chen ◽

Haihong Liu ◽

Wei Liang

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implants ◽

Fundamental Frequency ◽

Signal To Noise Ratio ◽

Lexical Tone ◽

Signal To Noise ◽

Sentence Recognition ◽

Test Conditions ◽

Age Appropriate ◽

F0 Contour ◽

Appropriate Sentences

Purpose Fundamental frequency (F0) is the primary acoustic cue for lexical tone perception in tonal languages but is processed in a limited way in cochlear implant (CI) systems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of F0 contours in sentence recognition in Mandarin-speaking children with CIs and find out whether it is similar to/different from that in age-matched normal-hearing (NH) peers. Method Age-appropriate sentences, with F0 contours manipulated to be either natural or flattened, were randomly presented to preschool children with CIs and their age-matched peers with NH under three test conditions: in quiet, in white noise, and with competing sentences at 0 dB signal-to-noise ratio. Results The neutralization of F0 contours resulted in a significant reduction in sentence recognition. While this was seen only in noise conditions among NH children, it was observed throughout all test conditions among children with CIs. Moreover, the F0 contour-induced accuracy reduction ratios (i.e., the reduction in sentence recognition resulting from the neutralization of F0 contours compared to the normal F0 condition) were significantly greater in children with CIs than in NH children in all test conditions. Conclusions F0 contours play a major role in sentence recognition in both quiet and noise among pediatric implantees, and the contribution of the F0 contour is even more salient than that in age-matched NH children. These results also suggest that there may be differences between children with CIs and NH children in how F0 contours are processed.

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Speech production accuracy of children with auditory brainstem implants: A comparison with peers with cochlear implants and typical hearing using Levenshtein Distance

First Language ◽

10.1177/01427237211042216 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 014272372110422

Author(s):

Jolien Faes ◽

Joris Gillis ◽

Steven Gillis

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implants ◽

Spontaneous Speech ◽

Auditory Brainstem ◽

Speech Development ◽

Levenshtein Distance ◽

Limited Information ◽

Sensorineural Hearing Impairment ◽

Auditory Brainstem Implants ◽

Considerable Individual Variation ◽

Hearing Children

Auditory brainstem implantation (ABI) is a recent innovation in pediatric hearing restoration in children with a sensorineural hearing impairment. Only limited information is available on the spontaneous speech development of severe-to-profound congenitally hearing-impaired children who received an ABI. The purpose of this study was to investigate longitudinally the accuracy of ABI children’s word productions in spontaneous speech in comparison to the accuracy of children who received a cochlear implant and children with normal hearing. The data of this study consist of recordings of the spontaneous speech of the first three Dutch-speaking children living in Belgium who received an ABI. The children’s utterances were phonemically transcribed and for each word, the distance between the child’s production and the standard adult phonemic transcription was computed using the Levenshtein Distance as a metric. The same procedure was applied to the longitudinal data of the children with CI and the normally hearing children. The main result was that the Levenshtein Distance decreased in the three children with ABI but it remained significantly higher than that of children with typical hearing and cochlear implants matched on chronological age, hearing age, and lexicon size. In other words, the phonemic accuracy increased in the children with ABI but stayed well below that of children without hearing loss and children with cochlear implants. Moreover, the analyses revealed considerable individual variation between the children with ABI.

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Varying Signal-to-Noise Ratios in Adolescent Voice Therapy

Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools ◽

10.1044/0161-1461.2203.179 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 179-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Richard D. Saniga ◽

Margaret F. Carlin

Keyword(s):

Fundamental Frequency ◽

Signal To Noise Ratio ◽

Voice Therapy ◽

Signal To Noise ◽

Everyday Activities ◽

Therapy Program ◽

Vocal Intensity ◽

Noise Ratio ◽

Speaking Voice ◽

Adolescent Voice

In our society competing noise has become part of most everyday activities. Vocal abusers need to learn to compensate for this auditory distractor. The present paper describes a voice therapy program for adolescent vocal abusers that utilizes a varying signal-to-noise ratio. Once this compensation is learned, vocal abusers can maintain an appropriate fundamental frequency and vocal intensity in their speaking voice.

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Word Recognition by Children Listening to Speech Processed into a Small Number of Channels: Data from Normal-Hearing Children and Children with Cochlear Implants

Ear and Hearing ◽

10.1097/00003446-200012000-00006 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 21 (6) ◽

pp. 590-596 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Michael F. Dorman ◽

Philipos C. Loizou ◽

Lauren L. Kemp ◽

and Karen Iler Kirk

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Cochlear Implants ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

Hearing Children

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Self-Monitoring of Listening Abilities in Normal-Hearing Children, Normal-Hearing Adults, and Children with Cochlear Implants

Journal of the American Academy of Audiology ◽

10.3766/jaaa.23.3.7 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 23 (03) ◽

pp. 206-221 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ann M. Rothpletz ◽

Frederic L. Wightman ◽

Doris J. Kistler

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implants ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

Objective Condition ◽

Self Monitoring ◽

Subjective Condition ◽

Adults And Children ◽

Listening Ability ◽

Children With Hearing Loss ◽

Listening Task ◽

Hearing Children

Background: Self-monitoring has been shown to be an essential skill for various aspects of our lives, including our health, education, and interpersonal relationships. Likewise, the ability to monitor one's speech reception in noisy environments may be a fundamental skill for communication, particularly for those who are often confronted with challenging listening environments, such as students and children with hearing loss. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to determine if normal-hearing children, normal-hearing adults, and children with cochlear implants can monitor their listening ability in noise and recognize when they are not able to perceive spoken messages. Research Design: Participants were administered an Objective-Subjective listening task in which their subjective judgments of their ability to understand sentences from the Coordinate Response Measure corpus presented in speech spectrum noise were compared to their objective performance on the same task. Study Sample: Participants included 41 normal-hearing children, 35 normal-hearing adults, and 10 children with cochlear implants. Data Collection and Analysis: On the Objective-Subjective listening task, the level of the masker noise remained constant at 63 dB SPL, while the level of the target sentences varied over a 12 dB range in a block of trials. Psychometric functions, relating proportion correct (Objective condition) and proportion perceived as intelligible (Subjective condition) to target/masker ratio (T/M), were estimated for each participant. Thresholds were defined as the T/M required to produce 51% correct (Objective condition) and 51% perceived as intelligible (Subjective condition). Discrepancy scores between listeners’ threshold estimates in the Objective and Subjective conditions served as an index of self-monitoring ability. In addition, the normal-hearing children were administered tests of cognitive skills and academic achievement, and results from these measures were compared to findings on the Objective-Subjective listening task. Results: Nearly half of the children with normal hearing significantly overestimated their listening in noise ability on the Objective-Subjective listening task, compared to less than 9% of the adults. There was a significant correlation between age and results on the Objective-Subjective task, indicating that the younger children in the sample (age 7–12 yr) tended to overestimate their listening ability more than the adolescents and adults. Among the children with cochlear implants, eight of the 10 participants significantly overestimated their listening ability (as compared to 13 of the 24 normal-hearing children in the same age range). We did not find a significant relationship between results on the Objective-Subjective listening task and performance on the given measures of academic achievement or intelligence. Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that many children with normal hearing and children with cochlear implants often fail to recognize when they encounter conditions in which their listening ability is compromised. These results may have practical implications for classroom learning, particularly for children with hearing loss in mainstream settings.

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

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.1784440 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 116 (4) ◽

pp. 2395-2405 ◽

Cited By ~ 312

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

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Frequency Importance Functions in Quiet and Noise for Adults With Cochlear Implants

American Journal of Audiology ◽

10.1044/2015_aja-15-0023 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 477-486 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Douglas P. Sladen ◽

Todd. A. Ricketts

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implants ◽

Signal To Noise Ratio ◽

Small Sample Size ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

Small Sample ◽

Equal Weight ◽

Signal To Noise ◽

Speech Spectrum ◽

Noisy Conditions ◽

Listening In Noise

Purpose Several studies have been devoted to understanding the frequency information available to adult users of cochlear implants when listening in quiet. The objective of this study was to construct frequency importance functions for a group of adults with cochlear implants and a group of adults with normal hearing both in quiet and in a +10 dB signal-to-noise ratio. Method Two groups of adults, 1 with cochlear implants and 1 with normal hearing, were asked to identify nonsense syllables in quiet and in the presence of 6-talker babble while “holes” were systematically created in the speech spectrum. Frequency importance functions were constructed. Results Results showed that adults with normal hearing placed greater weight on bands 1, 3, and 4 than on bands 2, 5, and 6, whereas adults with cochlear implants placed equal weight on all bands. The frequency importance functions for each group did not differ between listening in quiet and listening in noise. Conclusions Adults with cochlear implants assign perceptual weight toward different frequency bands, though the weight assignment does not differ between quiet and noisy conditions. Generalizing these results to the broader population of adults with implants is constrained by a small sample size.

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

Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research ◽

10.1044/jshr.3504.942 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 942-949 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

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.

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