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导致感音神经性听力损失的听者在噪音中听力下降的机制。目的1将研究一个假设，即听力受损听众在波动噪声中的不良表现是由于频率选择性差和语音冗余减少之间的相互作用。目的还将研究一个竞争性的假设，即这种较差的表现是由于较差的编码时间精细结构线索。目的2研究跨频率的语音或时间包络的组合。我们测试了这样一个假设，即听力受损的听众在这些信息的组合中表现不佳与较差的频率选择性有关，而不是与跨不同频率通道的信息组合相关的过程中的基本缺陷有关。目的3探讨了听力受损和正常听力者的频率选择性和时间加工之间的关系。这一目的的一系列实验验证了这样一个假设，即听力受损的听众在基于单一、广泛的听觉过滤器的输出比将多个、狭窄的听觉过滤器的信息组合在一起更有利的范式中，会比正常的时间处理表现得更好。相比之下，第二组实验使用了一种新颖的单耳包络相关感知范式，在该范式中，听力正常的听者似乎能够通过将多个狭窄的听觉过滤器中的信息组合在一起来实现急性时间处理。据推测，在这些条件下，听力受损的听众不会比正常人表现得更好，相反，他们很可能表现出一种表现缺陷。心理声学研究将使用标准的自适应测试技术，而语音研究将使用自适应和固定块方法的结合。数据将使用方差分析和相关程序进行分析。拟议的工作与公共卫生有关，因为来自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环境下理解语言能力的影响的信息。对正常听力的研究调查的现象可能与正常和听力受损的听众处理复杂声音（如言语）的能力有关。该项目与公共卫生直接相关，因为它调查了患有感音神经性听力损失的成年人可能出现的听力残疾形式。该项目还研究了在背景噪音中听到信号的听觉过程。这与公共卫生有关，因为背景噪音下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.