Binaural Spectral Integration with Hearing Loss and Hearing Devices

项目摘要 大约有2200万美国人有听力障碍。虽然听力设备，如听力 助听器（HA）和人工耳蜗（CI）成功地改善了许多听力正常的人的语音识别能力， 受损的个体，仍然有显着的差异，在利益，和语音识别噪声仍然是一个 问题.可能限制益处（尤其是双耳益处）的一个因素是异常双耳频谱整合。 双耳整合的先决条件是双耳融合-将来自两耳的刺激融合成一个 单一听觉对象我们在上一次资助中的发现表明，与听力正常（NH）的听众不同， 许多HA和CI用户在频谱域中经历异常“宽”的双耳融合， 两耳之间频率相差很大的声音仍然被当作一个声音来听。广泛的个人 融合也经历异常的双耳频谱积分-平均，从而频谱失真 当不同的声音融合在一起时，通过耳朵传递的信息。我们还发现广泛融合与 双耳干扰-双耳语音识别能力比单耳差。 更重要的是，初步数据显示，广泛融合与更大的困难有关， 在具有挑战性的多人聆听环境中理解语音，例如嘈杂的餐厅。困难 在噪音环境下听不清说话是医管局和计算机辅助语音识别系统使用者的主要投诉。为了帮助听障人士 听众减少双耳干扰，提高在背景噪音中的语音理解，我们需要 了解广泛融合的深层原因和因素。 这项研究计划的长期目标是调查影响，原因和潜在的治疗方法 用于听力受损的听众中的异常双耳频谱整合。在本提案中，我们将：1）确定 宽双耳融合如何影响安静和背景谈话者的言语感知;以及2）调查 在患有HA和CI的儿童和成人中广泛双耳融合的潜在原因，重点是外周 频谱分辨率、听觉体验和自上而下的听觉处理因素。 拟议中的研究将表明宽双耳频谱融合在面临的困难中的作用， 听力受损的听众，特别是在背景噪音的语音理解。测定 广泛融合的潜在因素将为未来治疗广泛融合的康复方法提供信息， 听力受损的收听者获得与NH收听者相同的双耳听力的益处。

Project Summary Approximately 22 million Americans have a hearing impairment. While hearing devices such as hearing aids (HAs) and cochlear implants (CIs) are successful in improving speech recognition for many hearing- impaired individuals, there is still significant variability in benefit, and speech recognition in noise remains a problem. One factor that may limit benefit, especially binaural benefit, is abnormal binaural spectral integration. A prerequisite for binaural integration is binaural fusion — the fusion of stimuli from the two ears into a single auditory object. Our findings from the previous grant showed that unlike normal-hearing (NH) listeners, many HA and CI users experience abnormally “broad” binaural fusion in the spectral domain, such that pitches that differ greatly in frequency between the two ears are still heard as a single percept. Individuals with broad fusion also experience abnormal binaural spectral integration - averaging and thus distortion of spectral information across the ears when disparate sounds are fused. We also showed broad fusion to be associated with binaural interference — poorer speech recognition with two ears compared to one. More importantly, preliminary data show that broad fusion is associated with greater difficulty with understanding speech in challenging multi-talker listening situations, such as noisy restaurants. Difficulties with speech understanding in noise is a major complaint of both HA and CI users. In order to help hearing-impaired listeners reduce binaural interference and improve speech understanding in background noise, we need to understand the underlying causes and factors in broad fusion. The long-term goal of this research program is to investigate the effects, causes, and potential treatments for abnormal binaural spectral integration in hearing-impaired listeners. In this proposal we will: 1) determine how broad binaural fusion affects speech perception in quiet and in background talkers; and 2) investigate potential causes of broad binaural fusion in children and adults with HAs and CIs, focusing on peripheral spectral resolution, auditory experience, and top-down auditory processing factors. The proposed research will indicate the role of broad binaural spectral fusion in difficulties faced by hearing-impaired listeners, especially for speech understanding in background noise. Determination of the factors underlying broad fusion will inform future rehabilitation approaches to treat broad fusion, and help hearing-impaired listeners attain the same benefits of binaural hearing as NH listeners.