Spectro-temporal analysis in normal and impaired ears

描述（由申请人提供）：长期目标是更好地了解感音神经性听力损失听众在噪声中听力差的机制。目标1将调查的假设，听力受损的听众在波动噪声的表现不佳是由于不良的频率选择性和减少语音冗余之间的相互作用。的目的也将调查一个竞争的假设，这种表现不佳是由于时间的精细结构线索编码不良。目标2研究语音或时间包络跨频率的组合。我们测试的假设，听力受损的听众在这些信息的组合表现不佳的频率选择性差，而不是一个重要的缺陷，在过程中，相关的信息在不同的频率通道的组合。目的3探讨听力受损者和听力正常者的频率选择性和时间处理之间的关系。在这个目标的一系列实验测试的假设，听力受损的听众将表现出比正常的时间处理的范例，它是更有利的基础上的输出的一个单一的，广泛的听觉过滤器的性能比联合收割机信息在多个，狭窄的听觉过滤器。相比之下，第二系列的实验使用了一种新的单耳包络相关感知范式，它似乎是正常听力的听众能够实现急性时间处理的信息相结合，在多个，窄的听觉滤波器。据推测，听力受损的听众在这些条件下不会表现得比正常人更好，而是很可能表现出性能缺陷。心理声学研究将使用标准的自适应测试技术，语音研究将使用自适应和固定块方法的组合。将使用方差分析和相关程序分析数据。拟议的工作与公共卫生有关，因为听力损失研究的数据将提供有关感音神经性听力损失对安静和噪音中理解言语能力的影响的信息。对正常听力的研究调查可能与正常和听力受损的听众处理复杂声音（如语音）的能力有关的现象。该项目与公共卫生直接相关，因为它调查了感音神经性听力损失成年人可能的听力残疾形式。该项目还研究了在背景噪音中听到信号的能力所依赖的听觉过程。这与公共卫生有关，因为背景噪声中的听力差是感音神经性听力损失患者最常见的主诉。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term aim is a better understanding of the mechanisms that are responsible for poor hearing in noise by listeners with sensorineural hearing loss. Aim 1 will investigate the hypothesis that the poor performance of hearing-impaired listeners in fluctuating noise is due to an interaction between poor frequency selectivity and reduced speech redundancy. The aim will also investigate a competing hypothesis that such poor performance is due to poor encoding of temporal fine structure cues. Aim 2 investigates the combination of speech or temporal envelope across frequency. We test the hypothesis that poor performance of hearing-impaired listeners in the combination of such information is related to poor frequency selectivity rather than to an essential deficit in processes that are related to the combination of information across different frequency channels. Aim 3 explores issues related to the relationship between frequency selectivity and temporal processing in both hearing-impaired and normal-hearing listeners. One series of experiments in this aim tests the hypothesis that hearing-impaired listeners will show better than normal temporal processing in paradigms where it is more advantageous to base performance on the output of a single, broad auditory filter than to combine information across multiple, narrow auditory filters. In contrast, a second series of experiments uses a novel monaural envelope correlation perception paradigm where it appears that normal-hearing listeners are able to achieve acute temporal processing by combining information across multiple, narrow auditory filters. It is hypothesized that hearing-impaired listeners will not perform better than normal in these conditions, but, instead, may well show a performance deficit. Psychoacoustic studies will use standard, adaptive testing techniques, and speech studies will use a combination of adaptive and fixed block methods. Data will be analyzed using analysis of variance and correlation procedures. The proposed work relates to public health in that the data from the studies on hearing loss will provide information about the effect of sensorineural hearing loss on the ability to understand speech in quiet and in noise. The studies on normal hearing investigate phenomena that are likely to be relevant to the ability of normal and hearing-impaired listeners to process complex sounds such as speech. This project is directly relevant to public health in that it investigates possible forms of hearing disability in adults who have sensorineural hearing loss. The project also investigates hearing processes that underlie the ability to hear signals in background noise. This is relevant to public health because poor hearing in background noise is the most common complaint of patients with sensorineural hearing loss.