Innovative Monitoring Device for Speech to Challenged Listeners

描述（由申请人提供）：我们将开发一种语音清晰度实时监测设备，用于提醒或培训听力受损听众的听力学家和其他对话伙伴。在第一阶段，我们将首先记录和评估30名英语母语者的演讲。在之前成功的发现的基础上，我们将确定和完善语音声学参数，这些参数对应于高清晰度语音的发音，并区分给定说话者的低清晰度和高清晰度语音。因此，这些参数将把听者的结果，理解所说的内容，与说话者对精确发音的注意联系起来。说话者会通过使用典型和“清晰”的语言风格来产生更少和更容易理解的语音样本。清晰的语言是由这样的指导产生的：“像对一个听力受损的或非母语的听众说话一样。”在几乎所有的成年人中，它会产生更精确的发音，也更容易被听者理解。听者将通过抄写他们以前没有听过的句子来评价这两种风格的演讲。由于混合了高水平的噪音，这项任务将变得更加困难。这无疑会大大降低典型语音的可理解性，而不是清晰语音的可理解性。之后，我们将在临床医生学生身上测试一个简化的、仅软件版本的系统。为了客户的未来利益，这些学生经常接受清晰的语言训练。我们的简化系统会定期提醒他们把随机选择的某些段落讲清楚。它将评估结果，并向用户显示一个分数，以表明结果与早期谈话者最容易理解的段落版本的接近程度。分数将基于先前导出的语音声学参数。在第二阶段，我们将把它扩展到自发的和会话式的语言。然后，我们将设计一个独立的手持设备，应用此处理来评估用户的发音精度，如果精度变低，可能会闪烁或振动。该设备将用于提醒或训练听力受损听众的对话伙伴。这些使用者包括听力学家和语言病理学家，以及感兴趣的家庭成员。公共卫生相关性：我们将开发语音清晰度的实时监测。这将是一个独立的手持设备，用于评估用户的发音精度，提醒或训练听力受损的听众的对话伙伴，包括听力学家和语言病理学家，以及感兴趣的家庭成员。这将提高与听障听众的沟通效率，并改善他们、他们的家庭和社区的生活质量。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We will develop a real-time monitoring device for speech intelligibility, to remind or train audiologists and other conversation partners of hearing-impaired listeners. In Phase I, we first will record and evaluate the speech of 30 native English talkers. Building on previous successful findings, we will determine and refine the speech-acoustic parameters that correspond to the articulation of highly intelligible speech, and that distinguish a given talker's less intelligible from more intelligible speech. These parameters will thus relate the listener's result, understanding what was said, to the talker's attention to precise articulation. The talkers will produce less and more intelligible speech samples by using typical and "clear" styles of speech. Clear speech is produced by the instruction, "Speak as if to a hearing-impaired or non-native listener." In nearly all adults, it produces more precisely articulated speech that is also better understood by listeners. Listeners will evaluate the speech produced in both styles by transcribing sentences that they have not previously heard from these talkers. The task will be made more difficult by mixing a high level of noise. This reliably reduces the intelligibility of typical speech much more than of clear speech. Afterward, we will test a simplified, software-only version of the system on clinician students. Such students are routinely trained in clear speech for the future benefit of their clients. Our simplified system will remind them periodically to speak certain randomly selected paragraphs clearly. It will evaluate the result and show the user a score to indicate how close the result came to the earlier talkers' most intelligible versions of that paragraph. The score will be based on the previously derived speech-acoustic parameters. In Phase II, we will extend this to spontaneous and conversational speech. Then we will design a self-contained, handheld device to apply this processing to evaluate a user's articulatory precision, and perhaps flash or vibrate if the precision becomes low. The device will be used to remind or to train the conversation partners of hearing-impaired listeners. Such users will include audiologists and speech pathologists, as well as interested family members. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: We will develop a real-time monitor of speech intelligibility. This will be a self-contained, handheld device to evaluate a user's articulatory precision, to remind or to train hearing- impaired listeners' conversation partners, including audiologists and speech pathologists, as well as interested family members. This will enhance communication effectiveness with hearing-impaired listeners and improve quality of life for them, their families, and their communities.