CONSONANT PERCEPTION IN NORMAL AND IMPAIRED LISTENERS

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The overall goal of the proposed work is to achieve a better understanding of how consonant spectral prominence and formant transition cues interact in determining a phonemic judgement, how these cues are altered by signal processing strategies in hearing aids and cochlear implants, and the implications of those alterations for consonant labeling by listeners with sensorineural hearing loss. There are three specific aims: 1) to investigate the interaction of relative amplitude and formant transition cues for consonant labeling by listeners with normal hearing and listeners with sensorineural hearing loss, and how this interaction may be influenced by presentation level, cue temporal duration, and integration of loudness; 2) to investigate how linear and syllabic compression hearing aid processing may alter cues acoustically and how these processing schemes may alter cue interaction; and 3) to investigate how cochlear implants with different processing strategies may alter cue interaction. Results from the proposed study will provide 1) an initial background for determination of cue weights and interaction in speech stimuli; 2) a possible relation between abnormal growth of response in ears with sensorineural hearing loss and the perception of speech cues, 3) further information on the sources of noise on acoustic cue processing, and 4) information on new auditory prosthetic devices alter speech acoustic cues and thereby influence consonant labeling behavior.