Innovative Monitoring Device for Speech to Challenged Listeners

描述(申请人提供)：我们将开发一种语音清晰度实时监测设备，以提醒或培训听力专家和其他对话伙伴听力受损的听众。在第一阶段，我们将首先记录和评估30名以英语为母语的人的演讲。基于之前的成功发现，我们将确定和改进与高可理解语音的清晰度相对应的语音声学参数，以及区分特定说话者较难理解的语音和更易理解的语音的语音声学参数。因此，这些参数将把听话者理解所说的话的结果与说话者对精确发音的注意联系起来。说话者将通过使用典型的、清晰的语音风格来产生越来越少的可理解的语音样本。清晰的语音是由这样的指令产生的：“像对听力受损的人或非母语的听众那样说话。”在几乎所有的成年人中，它都能产生更准确的发音，也更容易被听者理解。听者将通过转录他们以前从未从这些说话者那里听到的句子来评估这两种风格的演讲。由于混合了高水平的噪音，这项任务将变得更加困难。这可靠地降低了典型语音的清晰度，而不是清晰语音的清晰度。之后，我们将在临床医生学生身上测试该系统的简化、纯软件版本。这些学生经常接受清晰的语言培训，以帮助他们的客户在未来受益。我们的简化系统将定期提醒他们清楚地朗读某些随机选择的段落。它将对结果进行评估，并向用户显示一个分数，以表明结果与前面说话者最容易理解的段落版本有多接近。评分将基于之前得出的语音声学参数。在第二阶段，我们将把它扩展到自发和会话演讲。然后我们将设计一个自给自足的手持设备，应用这种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。该设备将被用来提醒或训练听力受损的听众的对话伙伴。这些用户将包括听觉学家和言语病理学家，以及感兴趣的家庭成员。公共卫生相关性：我们将开发一种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，提醒或培训听力受损听众的对话伙伴，包括听力专家和言语病理学家，以及感兴趣的家庭成员。这将提高与听障人士的沟通效率，并改善他们、他们的家人和他们所在社区的生活质素。

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.