Exploring the use of temporal cues for the optimization of speech processing, perception, and comprehension

在老龄化人口中，大多数人患有听力障碍，助听器通常被用来通过放大声音来改善沟通。虽然这种方法使语音听得见，但通过使其足够响亮，它不能使其清晰，特别是在嘈杂的环境中。众所周知，老龄化人口的认知能力下降越来越严重，这在很大程度上被现有的放大算法所忽视。认知能力可以通过测量听觉计时来评估，而听觉计时是理解言语的重要组成部分。它对所有强度级别的语音的时间包络和精细结构的感知是至关重要的。研究表明，在语境线索较低的情况下，对于听力严重受损和认知能力较差的人，时间包络会影响语音的清晰度。目前，助听器使用听力图的听力阈值来确定个人听力损失所需的必要增益或放大。然而，对于扩增的开始/偏移，也就是所谓的压缩时间，没有单独的规定方法。压缩机的启动时间(攻击时间)是助听器放大声音所需的时间，而偏移时间(释放时间)是恢复到原始声级的时间长度。研究表明，攻击的时间长短和释放时间会对认知能力较低的人的言语得分产生影响。这项研究计划旨在首次开发可用于规划助听器按压时间的听觉计时的个人脑电测量。这项研究计划的长期目标是开发一种更具包容性的标准，以开发考虑认知障碍的放大算法。这将通过对与年龄相关的认知能力下降的老年个体进行研究，使用EEG测量安静和噪声中的听觉计时来实现。使用这些措施，将修改一系列助听器的压缩系统的激活起始时间(即，攻击和释放时间)，并将针对噪声中的语音任务分析皮质语音处理。这些研究的结果将导致使用单词识别任务并通过将这些算法应用于各种设备，例如各种型号的助听器(即，耳后、管内接收器、海关、管内、耳朵内等)、人工耳蜗体和骨锚式助听器等在噪声中语音性能方面的进一步工作。这项研究将对助听器技术产生重大影响，因为它为使用听觉计时来解释助听器使用者的认知差异开辟了一个新的视角。开发适用于认知障碍的更具包容性的助听器，将减少他们的社会孤立，提高他们的认知健康和生活质量，从而使数百万加拿大老年人受益。

In the aging population, most individuals suffer from hearing impairment where hearing aids are commonly used to improve communication by amplifying sounds. Although this method makes speech audible, by making it sufficiently loud, it does not make it clear especially in noisy environments. It is known that aging populations have increasing cognitive decline which is largely ignored by the current amplification algorithms. Cognitive capacity can be evaluated by measuring auditory timing which is an essential part of understanding speech. It is critical for the perception of the temporal envelope and fine structures of speech sounds at all intensity levels. Research has shown that the temporal envelope affects speech intelligibility in situations where the contextual cues are low, for people with severe hearing loss and for those with lower cognition. Currently, hearing aids use hearing thresholds of the audiogram to determine the necessary gain or amplification needed for an individuals hearing loss. However, there are no individual prescriptive methods for the onset/offset of amplification, known as compression time. The onset of the compressor (attack time) is the time it takes for the hearing aid to amplify a sound, and the offset time (release time) is the length of time to return to the original sound level. Studies have shown that the length of attack and release time can have an impact on the speech scores of those with lower cognitive capacities. This research program aims to develop, for the first time, individual EEG measures of auditory timing which can be used to program hearing aid compression time. The longterm goal of this research program is to develop a more inclusive standard for developing amplification algorithms that take into account cognitive impairment. This will be achieved by conducting studies on aging individuals, with age-related cognitive decline, using EEG measures of auditory timing in silence and in noise. Using these measures, the activation onset of compression systems will be modified (i.e. the attack and release times) for a series of hearing aids and cortical speech processing will be analyzed for a speech-in-noise task. Results from these studies will lead to further work in speech-in-noise performance using word recognition tasks and by applying these algorithms to a variety of devices such as various models of hearing aids (i.e. behind-the-ear, receiver-in-the-canal, customs, in-the-canal, in-the-ear etc.), cochlear implants, and bone-anchored hearing aids. This research will have a major impact on hearing aid technologies as it opens a new perspective on using auditory timing to account for cognitive differences in hearing aid users. Developing more inclusive hearing aids that are suitable for cognitive impairment will benefit millions of aging Canadians by decreasing their social isolation and increasing their cognitive health and quality of life.