Understanding the Benefits of Electric-acoustic Stimulation

描述（由申请人提供）：许多聋人或严重听力受损的人可以使用人工耳蜗（CI）在安静的环境中理解语音，人工耳蜗（CI）直接用电流刺激听觉神经。然而，即使在少量的背景噪音中，他们的语音理解能力也会显著下降。对于那些有一些残余低频听力的人，电和声刺激（EAS）的组合可以显着提高背景噪声中的语音理解。目标说话者的基频（F0）变化和低频幅度包络是EAS益处的重要线索。拟议研究的广泛长期目标是促进对低频声刺激如何与电刺激相结合的理解，以增强在困难听力情况下的语音理解，并增强EAS对那些可能获得有限或没有益处的个人的益处。一个长期目标是开发一种可穿戴的实时处理器，可以更有效地向CI用户提供低频语音提示。具体目标是（1）增加EAS受益量的CI患者谁已经显示出的好处;（2）提供EAS受益其他CI患者谁显示很少或没有好处通常;（3）理解为什么有些CI患者不受益于EAS，即使他们的听力测试结果表明，他们可能。这项工作有可能扩大EAS的好处，那些CI用户谁不具备足够的剩余听力，显示EAS的好处通常，并提高EAS的好处，为那些谁做。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Many deaf or severely hearing-impaired individuals can understand speech in quiet environments using a cochlear implant (CI), which stimulates the auditory nerve directly with electrical current. However, their speech understanding typically declines significantly in even small amounts of background noise. For those who have some residual low-frequency hearing, the combination of electric and acoustic stimulation (EAS) can significantly improve speech understanding in background noise. Fundamental frequency (F0) variation and low-frequency amplitude envelope of the target talker are important cues for EAS benefit. The broad long-term goals of the proposed research are to advance the understanding of how low-frequency acoustic stimulation combines with electric stimulation to enhance speech understanding in difficult listening situations, and to enhance EAS benefit for individuals who might otherwise receive limited or no benefit. One long-term goal is to develop a wearable real-time processor that can deliver low-frequency speech cues to CI users more effectively. The specific aims are to (1) to increase the amount of EAS benefit to CI patients who already show a benefit; (2) To provide EAS benefit other CI patients who show little or no benefit typically; and (3) understand why some CI patients do not benefit from EAS, even when their audiometric results suggest they might. This work has the potential to extend the benefits of EAS to those CI users who do not possess enough residual hearing to show an EAS benefit typically, and to enhance the EAS benefit for those who do.