Restoration of spectral resolution with hearing-aid amplification

项目总结/摘要 听力损失的成年人比正常人更容易受到背景噪音的干扰。 听证会尽管提取嵌入在背景噪声中的语音信息的能力需要 解码不同频率（频谱信息）的水平差异，很少有研究涉及到 我们可以为听力损失的听众提供频谱信息。我们知识上的根本差距 阻碍了我们有效地解决听力损失对沟通、收入和 与他人交往的能力。这项工作是一个新的应用建立的方法表征光谱 最常见的听力损失康复设备-助听器放大器的分辨率。的 拟议中的实验将检验成年人能够在多大程度上恢复对光谱信息的访问 听力损失和利用这些信息来减少来自背景噪音的干扰的可行性。 目标1将描述助听器放大对频谱解码的影响。技术选择必须 由临床医生或助听器制造商设置，包括频率特定增益， 压缩机速度和压缩通道的数量。拟议中的实验将检验这一假设 听觉的损失的动态范围的恢复可以支持频谱信息的编码。也是 假设最能恢复光谱信息访问的技术选项组合将 个体之间的差异，这些个体之间的差异可以部分解释为 估计外毛细胞功能。目标2将确定恢复频谱访问的程度 信息支持在背景噪声中的语音识别，在指导假设下， 频谱分辨率增加语音理解。如果可以证明光谱测量 决议与放大的规定是有用的划定那些谁站在受益于不同的 技术选择，所获得的知识可以应用于临床，使临床医生能够更多地 成功地选择不同的康复方案。

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Adults with hearing loss are more vulnerable to interference from background noise than adults with normal hearing. Despite the fact that the ability to extract speech information imbedded in background noise requires decoding differences in level across frequency (spectral information), few studies have addressed the extent to which we can provide spectral information to listeners with hearing loss. This fundamental gap in our knowledge prevents us from effectively addressing the systemic effects of hearing loss on communication, income, and ability to socialize with others. This work is a new application of established methods of characterizing spectral resolution to that of the most common device for rehabilitation of hearing loss—hearing-aid amplification. The proposed experiments will examine the degree to which access to spectral information can be restored to adults with hearing loss and the feasibility of utilizing this information to decrease interference from background noise. Aim 1 will delineate the impact of hearing-aid amplification on spectral decoding. Technology options that must be set by the clinician or hearing-aid manufacturer will be examined, including the frequency-specific gain, compressor speed, and number of compression channels. The proposed experiments will test the hypothesis that restoration of the lost dynamic range of hearing can support the encoding of spectral information. It is also hypothesized that the combination of technology options that best restore access to spectral information will differ across individuals and that these differences across individuals can be partially accounted for by an estimate of outer hair cell function. Aim 2 will determine the extent to which restoring access to spectral information supports speech recognition in background noise, under the guiding hypothesis that improving spectral resolution increases speech understanding. If it can be demonstrated that measures of spectral resolution with the provision of amplification are useful at delineating those who stand to benefit from different technology options, the knowledge gained could then be applied to the clinic to allow for clinicians to more successfully choose among different rehabilitation options.