CLINICAL MEASURES OF AUDITORY LINEAR/NONLINEAR PROCESSES

临床听力学中的一个常见发现是听力受损的听者 具有相似的配置和听力损失程度的患者 在言语知觉的测量上有所不同。因此，这些人 它们从扩增中获得的好处可能有所不同。其中一个原因 因为在听力受损的听众中缺乏同质性是 听力图只提供了耳蜗病理学的粗略估计。因此，它 有可能听力受损的听众在他们的基础上 纯音听阈的耳蜗学病理及测量缺失 区分这些个体的敏感度。 耳蜗病理学改变了耳蜗的转导过程。机械式- 电气和机电转换工艺也进行了改进 直接通过毛细胞结构的改变，或间接通过 毛细胞转导所依赖的结构。客观的衡量标准 这些过程的特征将描述生理上的 并提供了更准确的描述 感觉神经性听力损失的最新证据。一家诊所 对耳蜗声传导的测量可能导致一种新的分类方案 基于潜在的病理生理学的感觉神经性听力损失。 这项研究的长期目标是使用这样的方案来确定 如果耳蜗骨的基本生理变化可以解释 听障听者在功能测量上的差异 听力，并为助听器设计新的信号处理算法。 耳蜗神经传导过程本身就是非线性的，因此， 耳蜗声传导的测量必须对非线性过程敏感。 听觉失真产物是非线性和反射的指标 耳蜗的完整性，但它们的缺失只是表明 转导，而不是对改变的转导过程的描述。一个 Bendat(1990)提出的新的非线性系统辨识方法 可以用来表征广泛的耳蜗传导过程。 频率范围。该技术可应用于ECochG、AEP和 因此，OAEs既有机电转导，也有机电转导 耳蜗内的过程可以被描述。这样做的特殊目的是 调查是使用本达特的程序来制定一种措施 耳蜗声传导，量化测量的可靠性，以及 测定其对因以下原因引起的耳蜗生理变化的敏感性 耳蜗骨损伤。

A common finding in clinical audiology is that hearing-impaired listeners with similar configurations and degrees of hearing loss perform differently on measures of speech perception. Consequently, these people may differ in the benefits they receive from amplification. One reason for the lack of homogeneity among hearing-impaired listener is that the audiogram provides only a rough estimate of cochlear pathology. Thus, it is possible that hearing-impaired listeners differ in their underlying cochlear pathology and measures of pure-tone threshold lack the sensitivity to distinguish these individuals. Cochlear pathology alters cochlear transduction processes. Mechano- electric and electro-mechanic transduction processes are modified, either directly through changes in hair cell structure, or indirectly, through structures on which hair cell transduction relies. An objective measure that characterizes these processes will describe the physiologic consequences of cochlear disorders and supply a more accurate description of sensorineural hearing loss then presently available. A clinical measure of cochlear transduction could lead to a new categorization scheme of sensorineural hearing loss based on the underlying pathophysiology. The long term goal of this research is to use such a scheme to determine if the underlying physiologic changes in the cochlea can account for the variation between hearing-impaired listeners on functional measures of hearing, and design new signal processing algorithms for hearing aids. Cochlear transduction processes are inherently nonlinear, therefore, a measure of cochlear transduction must be sensitive to nonlinear processes. Auditory distortion products are indices of nonlinearity and reflect cochlear integrity, but their absence only indicates a change in transduction, not a description of the altered transduction processes. A new nonlinear systems identification procedure developed by Bendat (1990) can be used to characterize cochlear transduction processes across a broad range of frequencies. This technique can be applied to ECochG, AEPs, and OAEs, thus, both mechano-electric and electro-mechanic transduction processes in the cochlea can be described. The special goal of this investigation is to use Bendat's procedure to develop a measure of cochlear transduction, quantify the reliability of the measure, and determine its sensitivity to changes in cochlear physiology due to cochlear damage.