Extended High-Frequency Bandwidth Improves Speech Reception in the Presence of Spatially Separated Masking Speech.
Extended High-Frequency Bandwidth Improves Speech Reception in the Presence of Spatially Separated Masking Speech.
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DOI：
10.1097/aud.0000000000000161
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发表时间：
2015-09
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Puria S
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Levy SC;Freed DJ;Nilsson M;Moore BC;Puria S
假设扩展可听频率带宽超出目前在大多数助听器中实现的范围，可以提高语音理解测试正常听力和听力受损的参与者使用目标句子和空间分离的掩蔽语音。重新记录噪声中听力测试（HINT）语音语料库，并以44.1 kHz的采样率记录4名掩蔽谈话者。所有的谈话者都是以美国英语为母语的男性。在两种空间配置下测量了句子的接收阈值。在非对称配置中，目标从-45 °方位角呈现，两个共位掩蔽扬声器从+45°方位角呈现。在漫射配置中，目标从0°方位角呈现，四个掩蔽谈话者分别从不同的方位角呈现：+45°，+135°，−135°和−45°。新的语音句子，掩蔽材料和配置，统称为“听力语音测试（HIST）”，使用低通滤波器截止频率为4，6，8和10 kHz。对于听力正常的参与者，使用扬声器在声场中呈现刺激。对于听力受损的参与者，使用耳机模拟空间配置，并使用具有修改的CAM 2拟合算法的多频带宽动态范围压缩器来补偿每个参与者的听力损失。对于听力正常的参与者（N=24，平均年龄40岁），RTS显着改善了3.0 dB时，带宽从4 kHz增加到10 kHz，并获得了1.3 dB的显着改善，从扩展带宽从6 kHz到10 kHz，在两个空间配置。听力受损的参与者（N=25，平均年龄71岁）也表现出RTS与扩展带宽的显着改善，但效果小于听力正常的参与者。当带宽从4 kHz增加到10 kHz时，非对称条件下RTS的平均下降为1.3 dB，扩散条件下为0.5 dB。将带宽从4 kHz扩展到10 kHz可以提高听力正常和听力受损参与者在空间分离的掩蔽语音存在下理解目标语音的能力。扩展高频放大的好处的未来研究应该调查其他现实的听力情况，掩蔽类型，空间配置和房间混响条件，以确定在克服与实现能够提供扩展高频放大的设备相关的技术挑战的附加值。
The hypothesis that extending the audible frequency bandwidth beyond the range currently implemented in most hearing aids can improve speech understanding was tested for normal-hearing and hearing-impaired participants using target sentences and spatially separated masking speech. The Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) speech corpus was re-recorded and four masking talkers were recorded at a sample rate of 44.1 kHz. All talkers were male native speakers of American English. Reception threshold for Sentences (RTS) were measured in two spatial configurations. In the asymmetric configuration, the target was presented from −45° azimuth and two colocated masking talkers were presented from +45° azimuth. In the diffuse configuration, the target was presented from 0° azimuth and four masking talkers were each presented from a different azimuth: +45°, +135°, −135°, and −45°. The new speech sentences, masking materials and configurations, collectively termed the ‘Hearing in Speech Test (HIST)’, were presented using lowpass filter cutoff frequencies of 4, 6, 8, and 10 kHz. For the normal-hearing participants, stimuli were presented in the sound field using loudspeakers. For the hearing-impaired participants, the spatial configurations were simulated using earphones, and a multi-band wide dynamic range compressor with a modified CAM2 fitting algorithm was used to compensate for each participant’s hearing loss. For the normal-hearing participants (N=24, mean age 40 years), the RTS improved significantly by 3.0 dB when the bandwidth was increased from 4 to 10 kHz, and a significant improvement of 1.3 dB was obtained from extending the bandwidth from 6 to 10 kHz, in both spatial configurations. Hearing-impaired participants (N=25, mean age 71 years) also showed a significant improvement in RTS with extended bandwidth, but the effect was smaller than for the normal-hearing participants. The mean decrease in RTS when the bandwidth was increased from 4 to 10 kHz was 1.3 dB for the asymmetric condition and 0.5 dB for the diffuse condition. Extending bandwidth from 4 to 10 kHz can improve the ability of normal-hearing and hearing-impaired participants to understand target speech in the presence of spatially separated masking speech. Future studies of the benefits of extended high-frequency amplification should investigate other realistic listening situations, masker types, spatial configurations, and room reverberation conditions, to determine added value in overcoming the technical challenges associated with implementing a device capable of providing extended high-frequency amplification.