Noise and acoustic conditions of premises for hearing-impaired people in Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-85
Author(s):  
Cheol-Ho Jeong ◽  
Wan-Ho Cho ◽  
Ji-Ho Chang ◽  
Sung-Hyun Lee ◽  
Chang-Wook Kang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Subjective Data ◽  
Impaired People ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Primary School Pupils ◽  
Acoustic Conditions

Hearing-impaired people need more stringent acoustic and noise requirements than normal-hearing people in terms of speech intelligibility and listening effort. Multiple guidelines recommend a maximum reverberation time of 0.4 s in classrooms, signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) greater than 15 dB, and ambient noise levels lower than 35 dBA. We measured noise levels and room acoustic parameters of 12 classrooms in two schools for hearing-impaired pupils, a dormitory apartment for the hearing-impaired, and a church mainly for the hearing-impaired in the Republic of Korea. Additionally, subjective speech clarity and quality of verbal communication were evaluated through questionnaires and interviews with hearing-impaired students in one school. Large differences in subjective speech perception were found between younger primary school pupils and older pupils. Subjective data from the questionnaire and interview were inconsistent; major challenges in obtaining reliable subjective speech perception and limitations of the results are discussed.

scholarly journals Measuring the Influence of Noise Reduction on Listening Effort in Hearing-Impaired Listeners Using Response Times to an Arithmetic Task in Noise

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 233121652110144
Author(s):  
Ilja Reinten ◽  
Inge De Ronde-Brons ◽  
Rolph Houben ◽  
Wouter Dreschler
Keyword(s):  
Noise Reduction ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Arithmetic Task ◽  
Test Retest Reliability ◽  
Influence Of Noise ◽  
Measured Response

Single microphone noise reduction (NR) in hearing aids can provide a subjective benefit even when there is no objective improvement in speech intelligibility. A possible explanation lies in a reduction of listening effort. Previously, we showed that response times (a proxy for listening effort) to an auditory-only dual-task were reduced by NR in normal-hearing (NH) listeners. In this study, we investigate if the results from NH listeners extend to the hearing-impaired (HI), the target group for hearing aids. In addition, we assess the relevance of the outcome measure for studying and understanding listening effort. Twelve HI subjects were asked to sum two digits of a digit triplet in noise. We measured response times to this task, as well as subjective listening effort and speech intelligibility. Stimuli were presented at three signal-to-noise ratios (SNR; –5, 0, +5 dB) and in quiet. Stimuli were processed with ideal or nonideal NR, or unprocessed. The effect of NR on response times in HI listeners was significant only in conditions where speech intelligibility was also affected (–5 dB SNR). This is in contrast to the previous results with NH listeners. There was a significant effect of SNR on response times for HI listeners. The response time measure was reasonably correlated ( R142 = 0.54) to subjective listening effort and showed a sufficient test–retest reliability. This study thus presents an objective, valid, and reliable measure for evaluating an aspect of listening effort of HI listeners.

Cochlear implantation in children with Waardenburg syndrome

2005 ◽  
Vol 119 (9) ◽  
pp. 719-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Daneshi ◽  
S Hassanzadeh ◽  
M Farhadi
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Speech Production ◽  
Cochlear Implantation ◽  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Type I ◽  
Waardenburg Syndrome ◽  
Retrospective Case ◽  
One Year

Waardenburg syndrome is an autosomal-dominant trait resulting from mutations occurring in different genes. It is often characterized by varying degrees of: congenital hearing loss; dystopia canthorum; synophrys; broad nasal root; depigmentation of hair (white forelock), skin or both; and heterochromic or hypochromic irides.A retrospective case study was done to assess speech perception, speech production, general intelligence and educational setting in six profoundly hearing-impaired children with Waardenburg syndrome (four with type I, one with type II and one with type III) ranging in age from two years to 14 years, seven months (mean = six years, six months). None of the patients had malformation of the cochlea and were implanted using Nucleus 22/24 and Med-el combi40+. Five out of the six cases were of average intelligence and one had a borderline intelligence quotient. The follow-up period ranged from one year, 10 months to six years, six months (mean = three years, six months) after implantation. The evaluation of auditory perception in patients was accomplished using the Persian Auditory Perception Test for the Hearing-Impaired, a Persian Spondee wordstest and the Categories of Auditory Performance Index. The Speech Intelligibility Rating test was used to evaluate speech production ability. All the patients’ speech perception and speech intelligibility capabilities improved considerably after receiving the implants, and they were able to be placed in regular educational settings. Patients used their cochlear-implant devices whenever awake, implying that they benefitted from the devices. We suggest that any further expansion of cochlear-implantation criteria in children include those with Waardenburg syndrome.

scholarly journals Neural signatures of disordered multi-talker speech perception in adults with normal hearing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aravindakshan Parthasarathy ◽  
Kenneth E Hancock ◽  
Kara Bennett ◽  
Victor DeGruttola ◽  
Daniel B Polley
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Phase Locking ◽  
Active Listening ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Eeg Recordings ◽  
Ear Canals ◽  
The Individual

AbstractIn social settings, speech waveforms from nearby speakers mix together in our ear canals. The brain unmixes the attended speech stream from the chorus of background speakers using a combination of fast temporal processing and cognitive active listening mechanisms. Multi-talker speech perception is vulnerable to aging or auditory abuse. We found that ∼10% of adult visitors to our clinic have no measurable hearing loss, yet offer a primary complaint of poor hearing. Multi-talker speech intelligibility in these adults was strongly correlated with neural phase locking to frequency modulation (FM) cues, as determined from ear canal EEG recordings. Combining neural temporal fine structure (TFS) processing with pupil-indexed measures of cognitive listening effort could predict most of the individual variance in speech intelligibility thresholds. These findings identify a confluence of disordered bottom-up and top-down processes that predict poor multi-talker speech perception and could be useful in next-generation tests of hidden hearing disorders.

scholarly journals Face mask type affects audiovisual speech intelligibility and subjective listening effort in young and older adults

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Violet Aurora Brown ◽  
Kristin J. Van Engen ◽  
Jonathan E. Peelle
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Impaired Performance ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Mask Type

Identifying speech requires that listeners make rapid use of fine-grained acoustic cues—a process that is facilitated by being able to see the talker’s face. Face masks present a challenge to this process because they can both alter acoustic information and conceal the talker’s mouth. Here, we investigated the degree to which different types of face masks and noise levels affect speech intelligibility and the subjective effort involved for young (N=180) and older (N=180) adult listeners. We found that in quiet, mask type had little influence on speech intelligibility relative to speech produced without a mask for both young and older adult listeners. However, with the addition of moderate (-5 dB SNR) and high (-9 dB SNR) levels of background noise, intelligibility dropped substantially for all types of face masks in both age groups. Across noise levels, transparent face masks and cloth face masks with filters impaired performance the most, and surgical face masks had the smallest influence on intelligibility. Importantly, participants also rated the speech as more effortful in the masked conditions compared to unmasked speech, particularly in background noise. Although young and older adults were similarly affected by face masks and noise in terms of intelligibility and subjective listening effort, older adults showed poorer intelligibility overall and rated the speech as more effortful to process relative to young adults. This research will help individuals make more informed decisions about which types of masks to wear in various communicative settings.

scholarly journals Listening effort: Not just a function of speech intelligibility scores

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Winn ◽  
Katherine H. Teece
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Wrong Answer ◽  
Percent Correct ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Whole Word

Speech perception and listening effort are complicated and interrelated concepts. One might assume that intelligibility performance (percent correct) is a proxy for listening effort, but there are some reasons to challenge whether that is actually true. Correct responses in speech perception tests could reflect effortful mental processing, and a completely wrong answer could evoke very little effort, especially if the misperception itself is linguistically well-formed and sensible. This paper presents evidence that listening effort is not a function of the proportion of words correct, but is rather driven by the types of errors, position of errors within a sentence, and the need to resolve ambiguity, reflecting how easily the listener can make sense of a perception. We offer a taxonomy of error types that is both intuitive and also consistent with data from two experiments measuring listening effort with careful controls to either elicit specific kinds of mistakes or to track specific mistakes retrospectively. Participants included individuals with normal hearing or with cochlear implants. In two experiments of sentence repetition, listening effort – indexed by changes in pupil size – was found to scale with the amount of perceptual restoration needed (phoneme versus whole word), and also scale with the sensibility of responses, but not with the number of intelligibility errors. Although mental corrective action and number of mistakes can scale together in many experiments, it is possible to dissociate them in order to advance toward a more explanatory (rather than correlational) account of listening effort.

scholarly journals Listening Effort Is Not the Same as Speech Intelligibility Score

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 233121652110276
Author(s):  
Matthew B. Winn ◽  
Katherine H. Teece
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Intelligibility Score ◽  
Important Notion

Listening effort is a valuable and important notion to measure because it is among the primary complaints of people with hearing loss. It is tempting and intuitive to accept speech intelligibility scores as a proxy for listening effort, but this link is likely oversimplified and lacks actionable explanatory power. This study was conducted to explain the mechanisms of listening effort that are not captured by intelligibility scores, using sentence-repetition tasks where specific kinds of mistakes were prospectively planned or analyzed retrospectively. Effort measured as changes in pupil size among 20 listeners with normal hearing and 19 listeners with cochlear implants. Experiment 1 demonstrates that mental correction of misperceived words increases effort even when responses are correct. Experiment 2 shows that for incorrect responses, listening effort is not a function of the proportion of words correct but is rather driven by the types of errors, position of errors within a sentence, and the need to resolve ambiguity, reflecting how easily the listener can make sense of a perception. A simple taxonomy of error types is provided that is both intuitive and consistent with data from these two experiments. The diversity of errors in these experiments implies that speech perception tasks can be designed prospectively to elicit the mistakes that are more closely linked with effort. Although mental corrective action and number of mistakes can scale together in many experiments, it is possible to dissociate them to advance toward a more explanatory (rather than correlational) account of listening effort.

scholarly journals Face mask type affects audiovisual speech intelligibility and subjective listening effort in young and older adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Violet A. Brown ◽  
Kristin J. Van Engen ◽  
Jonathan E. Peelle
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Noise Levels ◽  
Listening Effort ◽  
Impaired Performance ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Mask Type

AbstractIdentifying speech requires that listeners make rapid use of fine-grained acoustic cues—a process that is facilitated by being able to see the talker’s face. Face masks present a challenge to this process because they can both alter acoustic information and conceal the talker’s mouth. Here, we investigated the degree to which different types of face masks and noise levels affect speech intelligibility and subjective listening effort for young (N = 180) and older (N = 180) adult listeners. We found that in quiet, mask type had little influence on speech intelligibility relative to speech produced without a mask for both young and older adults. However, with the addition of moderate (− 5 dB SNR) and high (− 9 dB SNR) levels of background noise, intelligibility dropped substantially for all types of face masks in both age groups. Across noise levels, transparent face masks and cloth face masks with filters impaired performance the most, and surgical face masks had the smallest influence on intelligibility. Participants also rated speech produced with a face mask as more effortful than unmasked speech, particularly in background noise. Although young and older adults were similarly affected by face masks and noise in terms of intelligibility and subjective listening effort, older adults showed poorer intelligibility overall and rated the speech as more effortful to process relative to young adults. This research will help individuals make more informed decisions about which types of masks to wear in various communicative settings.

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