Speech-in-Noise Audiometry in Adults: A Review of the Available Tests for French Speakers

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Difficulty understanding speech in background noise is the reason of consultation for most people who seek help for their hearing. With the increased use of speech-in-noise (SpIN) testing, audiologists and otologists are expected to evidence disabilities in a greater number of patients with sensorineural hearing loss. The purpose of this study is to list validated available SpIN tests for the French-speaking population. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> A review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. PubMed and Scopus databases were searched. Search strategies used a combination of 4 keywords: speech, audiometry, noise, and French. There were 10 validated SpIN tests dedicated to the Francophone adult population at the time of the review. Some tests use digits triplets as speech stimuli and were originally designed for hearing screening. The others were given a broader range of indications covering diagnostic or research purposes, determination of functional capacities and fitness for duty, as well as assessment of hearing amplification benefit. <b><i>Key Messages:</i></b> As there is a SpIN test for almost any type of clinical or rehabilitation needs, both the accuracy and duration should be considered for choosing one or the other. In an effort to meet the needs of a rapidly aging population, fast adaptive procedures can be favored to screen large groups in order to limit the risk of ignoring the early signs of forthcoming presbycusis and to provide appropriate audiological counseling.

Model Based or Model Free? Comparing Adaptive Methods for Estimating Thresholds in Neuroscience

The quantification of human perception through the study of psychometric functions Ψ is one of the pillars of experimental psychophysics. In particular, the evaluation of the threshold is at the heart of many neuroscience and cognitive psychology studies, and a wide range of adaptive procedures has been developed to improve its estimation. However, these procedures are often implicitly based on different mathematical assumptions on the psychometric function, and unfortunately, these assumptions cannot always be validated prior to data collection. This raises questions about the accuracy of the estimator produced using the different procedures. In the study we examine in this letter, we compare five adaptive procedures commonly used in psychophysics to estimate the threshold: Dichotomous Optimistic Search (DOS), Staircase, PsiMethod, Gaussian Processes, and QuestPlus. These procedures range from model-based methods, such as the PsiMethod, which relies on strong assumptions regarding the shape of Ψ, to model-free methods, such as DOS, for which assumptions are minimal. The comparisons are performed using simulations of multiple experiments, with psychometric functions of various complexity. The results show that while model-based methods perform well when Ψ is an ideal psychometric function, model-free methods rapidly outshine them when Ψ deviates from this model, as, for instance, when Ψ is a beta cumulative distribution function. Our results highlight the importance of carefully choosing the most appropriate method depending on the context.

Il personaggio delle Grandi Parodie Disney tra intertestualità e serialità

ABSTRACT: Le Grandi Parodie Disney dei classici della letteratura costituiscono un’originale e intensa impresa creativa, cominciata nel 1949 con L’Inferno di Topolino e ancora oggi portata avanti con successo dagli autori Disney italiani. L’articolo si concentra sui procedimenti adattivi alla base delle Parodie, privilegiando quelli che investono in prima battuta l’elemento narrativo del personaggio. Il close reading condotto sull’Inferno di Topolino, parodia antesignana e manifesto dell’intero corpus, permette di osservare come sul personaggio della parodia si giochi in larga misura il mix di intertestualità e serialità che, con una considerevole prevalenza della seconda sulla prima, caratterizza questi adattamenti. In conclusione, si mostra come le risorse espressive e semantiche del personaggio seriale non solo comportino l’immediata riconoscibilità della parodia, ma sostengano significative innovazioni di ordine tematico-ideologico rispetto all’opera dantesca e coraggiose prese di posizione sull’importanza del fumetto seriale nel sistema culturale contemporaneo.Parole chiave: Grandi Parodie Disney. personaggio seriale. Intertestualità. Divina Commedia. Topolino. Resumo: Le Grandi Parodie Disney dos clássicos da literatura constituem um trabalho criativo original e intenso, que começou em 1949 com o Inferno de Mickey e ainda hoje é apresentado com sucesso por autores italianos da Disney. O artigo enfoca os procedimentos adaptativos subjacentes às paródias, privilegiando aquelas que envolvem, principalmente, o elemento narrativo do personagem. A leitura atenta realizada em O Inferno de Mickey, precursor da paródia e presente em todo o corpus, permite-nos observar como a mistura de intertextualidade e serialidade desempenha, em grande medida, o caráter da paródia que, com uma prevalência considerável do segundo sobre o primeiro, caracteriza essas adaptações. Desse modo, observa-se como os recursos expressivos e semânticos do personagem serial não só levam ao reconhecimento imediato da paródia, mas também sustentam significativas inovações temático-ideológicas no que diz respeito à obra de Dante e às posturas corajosas sobre a importância dos quadrinhos seriados no sistema cultural contemporâneo.Palavras-chave: Grandi Parodie Disney. Personagem serial. Intertextualidade. Divina Commedia. Mickey Mouse. ABSTRACT: The Great Disney Parodies of the classics of literature are a major creative enterprise, begun in 1949 with L’Inferno di Topolino and still successfully carried out by Italian Disney authors today. The article investigates the adaptive procedures of the Parodies, with a special focus on those involving the pivotal narrative element of the character. From the close reading of L’Inferno di Topolino, the first parody to be written and a manifesto of the entire corpus, it is possible to observe how the mix of intertextuality and seriality which distinguishes these adaptations hinges largely on the expressive and semantic resources of Disney serial characters. In the conclusion, the main effects of the prevailing of seriality over intertextuality are discussed, showing how it makes for the immediate recognizability of the parody, supports significant thematic-ideological innovations with respect to Dante's work, and allows for courageous metaliterary assertion on the importance of serial comics in the contemporary cultural system.Keywords: Grandi Parodie Disney. Serial character. Intertextuality. Divine Comedy. Mickey Mouse.

Efficient Adaptive Speech Reception Threshold Measurements Using Stochastic Approximation Algorithms

This study examines whether speech-in-noise tests that use adaptive procedures to assess a speech reception threshold in noise ( SRT50n) can be optimized using stochastic approximation (SA) methods, especially in cochlear-implant (CI) users. A simulation model was developed that simulates intelligibility scores for words from sentences in noise for both CI users and normal-hearing (NH) listeners. The model was used in Monte Carlo simulations. Four different SA algorithms were optimized for use in both groups and compared with clinically used adaptive procedures. The simulation model proved to be valid, as its results agreed very well with existing experimental data. The four optimized SA algorithms all provided an efficient estimation of the SRT50n. They were equally accurate and produced smaller standard deviations (SDs) than the clinical procedures. In CI users, SRT50n estimates had a small bias and larger SDs than in NH listeners. At least 20 sentences per condition and an initial signal-to-noise ratio below the real SRT50n were required to ensure sufficient reliability. In CI users, bias and SD became unacceptably large for a maximum speech intelligibility score in quiet below 70%. In conclusion, SA algorithms with word scoring in adaptive speech-in-noise tests are applicable to various listeners, from CI users to NH listeners. In CI users, they lead to efficient estimation of the SRT50n as long as speech intelligibility in quiet is greater than 70%. SA procedures can be considered as a valid, more efficient, and alternative to clinical adaptive procedures currently used in CI users.

2D-Neo-Fuzzy Neuron and Its Adaptive Learning

In the paper 2D-neo-fuzzy neuron is presented. It is a generalization of the traditional NFN for data in matrix form. 2D-NFN is based on the matrix adaptive bilinear model with an additional fuzzification layer. It reduces the number of adjustable synaptic weights in comparison with traditional systems. For its learning, optimized adaptive procedures with filtering and tracking properties are proposed. 2D-NFN can be effectively used for image processing, data reduction, and restoration of non-stationary signals, presented as 2D-sequences.