Understanding the Benefits of Electric-acoustic Stimulation

描述(由申请人提供)：许多聋人或严重听力受损的人可以在安静的环境中使用人工耳蜗(CI)听懂语音，人工耳蜗通过电流直接刺激听神经。然而，即使在少量的背景噪音中，他们的语音理解能力通常也会显著下降。对于那些有一些残留的低频听力的人，电和声刺激(EAS)的结合可以显著提高背景噪声中的语音理解能力。目标说话者的基频(F0)变化和低频幅度包络是EAS受益的重要线索。拟议研究的广泛长期目标是促进人们对低频声刺激与电刺激如何结合以在困难的听力情况下增强语音理解的理解，并增强EAS对个人的好处，否则他们可能会获得有限的好处或没有好处。一个长期目标是开发一种可穿戴的实时处理器，可以更有效地向CI用户提供低频语音提示。其具体目的是(1)增加已经显示出益处的CI患者的EAS受益额；(2)使EAS受益于其他通常表现出很少或没有益处的CI患者；以及(3)理解为什么一些CI患者不能从EAS中受益，即使他们的听力测试结果表明他们可以受益。这项工作有可能将EAS的好处扩展到那些没有足够剩余听力以表现出EAS好处的CI用户，并提高那些拥有EAS好处的人的EAS好处。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Many deaf or severely hearing-impaired individuals can understand speech in quiet environments using a cochlear implant (CI), which stimulates the auditory nerve directly with electrical current. However, their speech understanding typically declines significantly in even small amounts of background noise. For those who have some residual low-frequency hearing, the combination of electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS) can significantly improve speech understanding in background noise. Fundamental frequency (F0) variation and low-frequency amplitude envelope of the target talker are important cues for EAS benefit. The broad long-term goals of the proposed research are to advance the understanding of how low-frequency acoustic stimulation combines with electric stimulation to enhance speech understanding in difficult listening situations, and to enhance EAS benefit for individuals who might otherwise receive limited or no benefit. One long-term goal is to develop a wearable real-time processor that can deliver low-frequency speech cues to CI users more effectively. The specific aims are to (1) to increase the amount of EAS benefit to CI patients who already show a benefit; (2) To provide EAS benefit other CI patients who show little or no benefit typically; and (3) understand why some CI patients do not benefit from EAS, even when their audiometric results suggest they might. This work has the potential to extend the benefits of EAS to those CI users who do not possess enough residual hearing to show an EAS benefit typically, and to enhance the EAS benefit for those who do.