Restoration of spectral resolution with hearing-aid amplification

项目摘要/摘要 听力损失的成年人比听力正常的成年人更容易受到背景噪音的干扰 听证。尽管提取嵌入在背景噪声中的语音信息的能力需要 在解码不同频率(频谱信息)的电平差异时，很少有研究涉及到 我们可以为听力受损的听众提供光谱信息。我们知识中的这一根本鸿沟 阻止我们有效地解决听力损失对通信、收入和 与他人交往的能力。这项工作是已建立的光谱表征方法的新应用 解决了听力损失最常见的康复设备-助听器放大的问题。这个 拟议的实验将检查成年人可以在多大程度上恢复对光谱信息的访问 与听力损失以及利用这些信息来减少背景噪声干扰的可行性。 目标1将描述助听器放大对频谱解码的影响。必须提供的技术选项 将检查由临床医生或助听器制造商设置的频率，包括频率特定增益， 压缩机转速和压缩通道数。拟议中的实验将检验这一假设。 听力损失的动态范围的恢复可以支持光谱信息的编码。它也是 假设最佳恢复光谱信息访问的技术选项组合将 不同个体之间的差异，这些不同个体之间的差异可以部分解释为 外毛细胞功能的估计。目标2将确定恢复访问SPECTRUM的程度 信息支持背景噪声中的语音识别，在改善语音识别的指导假设下 频谱分辨率提高了语音理解能力。如果能证明光谱的测量 具有放大功能的决议有助于确定哪些人将受益于不同的 技术选择，所获得的知识然后可以应用于临床，使临床医生能够 成功地在不同的康复方案中进行选择。

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.