An examination of the effects of broadband air-conduction masker on the speech intelligibility of speech-modulated bone-conduction ultrasound

Nishimura, Tadashi; Okayasu, Tadao; Saito, Osamu; Shimokura, Ryota; Yamashita, Akinori; Yamanaka, Toshiaki; Hosoi, Hiroshi; Kitahara, Tadashi

doi:10.1016/j.heares.2014.09.012

Cited by 7 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…The 57-S word lists and speech-weighted noise were employed as the test material and noise, respectively. The power spectrum of the speech-weighted noise was constant from 125 Hz to 1000 Hz, with a roll-off of 12 dB/oct [ 34 ]. The presented noise between two loudspeakers was uncorrelated.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefits of Cartilage Conduction Hearing Aids for Speech Perception in Unilateral Aural Atresia

et al. 2021

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Severe conductive hearing loss due to unilateral aural atresia leads to auditory and developmental disorders, such as difficulty in hearing in challenging situations. Bone conduction devices compensate for the disability but unfortunately have several disadvantages. The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits of cartilage conduction (CC) hearing aids for speech perception in unilateral aural atresia. Eleven patients with unilateral aural atresia were included. Each participant used a CC hearing aid in the atretic ear. Speech recognition scores in the binaural hearing condition were obtained at low speech levels to evaluate the contribution of aided atretic ears to speech perception. Speech recognition scores were also obtained with and without presentation of noise. These assessments were compared between the unaided and aided atretic ear conditions. Speech recognition scores at low speech levels were significantly improved under the aided atretic ear condition (p < 0.05). A CC hearing aid in the unilateral atretic ear did not significantly improve the speech recognition score in a symmetrical noise presentation condition. The binaural hearing benefits of CC hearing aids in unilateral aural atresia were predominantly considered a diotic summation. Other benefits of binaural hearing remain to be investigated.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benefits of Cartilage Conduction Hearing Aids for Speech Perception in Unilateral Aural Atresia

et al. 2021

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“…Findings from a previous study on the perceptual mechanism of SM-BCU in normal hearing individuals suggest that both demodulated low frequency sound and direct ultrasonic stimulation contribute to the recognition of SM-BCU [ 33 ]. Therefore, Future studies including a demodulated sound masking condition or examination for the performance of profoundly deaf individuals is needed on vowel durational changes in SM-BCU.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Word Categorization of Vowel Durational Changes in Speech-Modulated Bone-Conducted Ultrasound

et al. 2021

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Ultrasound can deliver speech information when it is amplitude-modulated with speech and presented via bone conduction. This speech-modulated bone-conducted ultrasound (SM-BCU) can also transmit prosodic information. However, there is insufficient research on the recognition of vowel duration in SM-BCU. The aim of this study was to investigate the categorization of vowel durational changes in SM-BCU using a behavioral test. Eight Japanese-speaking participants with normal hearing participated in a forced-choice behavioral task to discriminate between “hato” (pigeon) and “haato” (heart). Speech signal stimuli were presented in seven duration grades from 220 ms to 340 ms. The threshold at which 50% of responses were “haato” was calculated and compared for air-conducted audible sound (ACAS) and SM-BCU. The boundary width was also evaluated. Although the SM-BCU threshold (mean: 274.6 ms) was significantly longer than the ACAS threshold (mean: 269.6 ms), there were no differences in boundary width. These results suggest that SM-BCU can deliver prosodic information about vowel duration with a similar difference limen to that of ACAS in normal hearing.

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“…Our previous study investigated the intelligibility of speech-modulated BCU using a numeral word list under masking conditions [ 39 ]. In the presence of masking, the speech recognition curve for the original speech signal shifted to the right, depending on the masker intensity.…”

Section: Recognition Of Speech-modulated Bcu In Hearing-impaired Patientsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The vertical bars indicate standard deviations. ( Figure 2 was originally presented in Nishimura et al 2014, Figure 6 [ 39 ]).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Perception Mechanism of Bone-Conducted Ultrasound and Its Clinical Use

et al. 2021

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It is generally believed that ultrasound cannot be heard. However, ultrasound is audible when it is presented through bone conduction. Bone-conducted ultrasound (BCU) has unique characteristics; the most interesting is its perception in patients with profound deafness. Some patients can perceive it and discriminate speech-modulated BCU. Previous reports have suggested that BCU can be used for a hearing aid or tinnitus sound therapy. In this review, the perception of BCU at both the peripheral and central levels was investigated based on previous studies, although some of them remain controversial. We also investigated the clinical use of BCU. To develop hearing aids utilizing BCU, the encoding of speech signals into BCU has to be established. The outcomes of the reported speech modulations were evaluated. Furthermore, the suppression of tinnitus by BCU was reviewed, and the feasibility of the application of BCU to tinnitus treatment was investigated.

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An examination of the effects of broadband air-conduction masker on the speech intelligibility of speech-modulated bone-conduction ultrasound

Cited by 7 publications

References 24 publications

Benefits of Cartilage Conduction Hearing Aids for Speech Perception in Unilateral Aural Atresia

Benefits of Cartilage Conduction Hearing Aids for Speech Perception in Unilateral Aural Atresia

Word Categorization of Vowel Durational Changes in Speech-Modulated Bone-Conducted Ultrasound

Perception Mechanism of Bone-Conducted Ultrasound and Its Clinical Use

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