Speech Perception with Combined Electric and Acoustic Stimulation

描述（由申请人提供）：在之前的一些研究中已经证明了电和声刺激（EAS）对语音和音高感知的益处。在某些情况下，即使人工耳蜗植入（CI）患者在非植入耳中的剩余听力和言语感知能力非常有限，也已记录EAS受益。迄今为止，尚不清楚感觉输入、语言环境和认知功能的个体差异如何影响EAS提供的益处程度，也不知道典型EAS患者是否最大限度地利用了其残余听力。这些不确定性限制了临床医生和患者做出与第二耳植入相关的良好决策的能力。在这项研究中，我们试图找出因素的基础EAS的好处，并调查的方法，可能会提高EAS用户的剩余听力的好处。与大多数以前的研究所采用的描述性方法不同，我们将采取一个更全面的，基于模型的方法，考虑自下而上和自上而下的过程，有助于EAS用户的多源语音感知。目标1将确定EAS的好处是如何影响听众的能力，利用和最佳加权语音提示CI和残余听力的耳朵。目标2将研究自下而上的低频声学线索和自上而下的处理（如使用语言上下文和填补缺失的语音信息的能力）如何相互作用，以提高EAS用户的语音清晰度。最后，Aim 3将开发和测试可能改善EAS用户语音感知的语音增强算法。总的来说，这项研究应该大大增加我们对以下问题的理解：1）EAS中低频剩余听力的预期受益程度，2）负责EAS受益的机制以及解释个体差异的因素，3）可能增强EAS用户语音感知的信号处理算法的性质。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The benefit of combined electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS) for speech and pitch perception has been demonstrated in a number of previous studies. In some cases, EAS benefit has been documented even when cochlear-implant (CI) patients have very limited residual hearing and speech perception ability in the non-implanted ear. To date, it is still unclear how individual differences in sensory inputs, linguisti context, and cognitive functions influence the degree of benefit provided by EAS, and it is not known whether the typical EAS patient utilizes their residual hearing to its greatest potential. These uncertainties limit clinicians' and patients' ability to make good decisions related to second-ear implantation. In this research, we seek to identify factors that underlie EAS benefit and to investigate methods that could potentially enhance the benefits of residual hearing in EAS users. Unlike the descriptive approach employed by most previous studies, we will take a more comprehensive, model-based approach that considers both the bottom-up and top-down processes that contribute to multi-source speech perception in EAS users. Aim 1 will determine how EAS benefit is influenced by listeners' ability to utilize and optimally weight speech cues presented to the CI and residual hearing ears. Aim 2 will investigate how bottom-up low-frequency acoustic cues and top-down processing (such as the use of linguistic context and the ability to fill in missing speech information) interact to improve speech intelligibility in EAS usrs. Finally, Aim 3 will develop and test speech-enhancement algorithms that are likely to improve speech perception by EAS users. Overall, this research should add substantially to our understanding of 1) the degree of benefit that can be expected from low-frequency residual hearing in EAS, 2) the mechanisms responsible for EAS benefit and the factors that account for its variability across individuals, and 3) the nature of signal-processing algorithms that may enhance speech perception in EAS users.