An Integrative Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Directional Microphone and Noise-Reduction Algorithm under Realistic Signal-to-Noise Ratios

Kuk, Francis; Slugocki, Christopher; Korhonen, Petri

doi:10.3766/jaaa.19009

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…This is less than the 6.5 dB improvement offered by the use of the DIRM. 1 It is difficult to compare the magnitude of the context effect measured in this study with those of others 18 because of the differences in test materials.…”

Section: Repeat Performancementioning

confidence: 75%

“…►Fig. 6 summarizes the absolute scores for each measure reported in Kuk et al, 1 averaged across SNRs and participants in each WMC group. For repeat, the good WMC listeners scored higher for both the HC and LC sentences than the poor WMC listeners; however, both groups were equally effective in utilizing context to help in speech understanding.…”

Section: A Source Of Difference In Context Use Between Wmc Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a previous paper, we reported on the use of the Repeat-Recall Test (RRT) as an integrative tool to examine the efficacy of a directional microphone (DIRM) and a noise reduction (NR) algorithm. 1 We examined how the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the environment and the working memory capacities (WMCs) of the listeners affected the efficacy of these two features on outcome measures of speech intelligibility (repeat), word/sentence retention (recall), and ratings of listening effort and tolerable time. We showed that the noted efficacy interacted with SNR, WMC, and passage context.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…21 While there is limited evidence to support that NR algorithms improve SNR, they have been shown to reduce listening effort. 1,17 Thus, the use of processing features on a HA could change CU across realistic SNRs.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using the Repeat-Recall Test to Examine Factors Affecting Context Use

Kuk¹,

Slugocki²,

Korhonen³

2020

J Am Acad Audiol

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Background The effect of context on speech processing has been studied using different speech materials and response criteria. The Repeat-Recall Test (RRT) evaluates listener performance using high context (HC) and low context (LC) sentences; this may offer another platform for studying context use (CU). Objective This article aims to evaluate if the RRT may be used to study how different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), hearing aid technologies (directional microphone and noise reduction), and listener working memory capacities (WMCs) interact to affect CU on the different measures of the RRT. Design Double-blind, within-subject repeated measures design. Study Sample Nineteen listeners with a mild-to-moderately severe hearing loss. Data Collection The RRT was administered with participants wearing the study hearing aids under two microphone (omnidirectional vs. directional) by two noise reduction (on vs. off) conditions. Speech was presented from 0 degree at 75 dB sound pressure level and a continuous speech-shaped noise from 180 degrees at SNRs of 0, 5, 10, and 15 dB. The order of SNR and hearing aid conditions was counterbalanced across listeners. Each test condition was completed twice in two 2-hour sessions separated by 1 month. Results CU was calculated as the difference between HC and LC sentence scores for each outcome measure (i.e., repeat, recall, listening effort, and tolerable time). For all outcome measures, repeated measures analyses of variance revealed that CU was significantly affected by the SNR of the test conditions. For repeat, recall, and listening effort measures, these effects were qualified by significant two-way interactions between SNR and microphone mode. In addition, the WMC group significantly affected CU during recall and rating of listening effort, the latter of which was qualified by an interaction between the WMC group and SNR. Listener WMC affected CU on estimates of tolerable time as qualified by significant two-way interactions between SNR and microphone mode. Conclusion The study supports use of the RRT as a tool for measuring how listeners use sentence context to aid in speech processing. The degree to which context influenced scores on each outcome measure of the RRT was found to depend on complex interactions between the SNR of the listening environment, hearing aid features, and the WMC of the listeners.

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Section: Repeat Performancementioning

confidence: 75%

Section: A Source Of Difference In Context Use Between Wmc Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using the Repeat-Recall Test to Examine Factors Affecting Context Use

Kuk¹,

Slugocki²,

Korhonen³

2020

J Am Acad Audiol

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“…This design allows for comparison of listener performance between passages with high and low availability of semantic context while controlling for acoustical differences and other factors that may affect target word difficulty. Kuk et al (2020) used the RRT to assess listener speechin-noise performance under conditions analogous to those of the Slugocki et al (2020) electrophysiological experiment. However, in Kuk et al (2020) participants were tested with live hearing aids in the sound field rather than in a simulated aided mode.…”

Section: Speech-in-noise Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Left Lateralization of the Cortical Auditory-Evoked Potential Reflects Aided Processing and Speech-in-Noise Performance of Older Listeners With a Hearing Loss

Slugocki¹,

Kuk²,

Korhonen³

2022

Ear &Amp; Hearing

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Objectives: We analyzed the lateralization of the cortical auditory-evoked potential recorded previously from aided hearing-impaired listeners as part of a study on noise-mitigating hearing aid technologies. Specifically, we asked whether the degree of leftward lateralization in the magnitudes and latencies of these components was reduced by noise and, conversely, enhanced/restored by hearing aid technology. We further explored if individual differences in lateralization could predict speech-in-noise abilities in listeners when tested in the aided mode. Design: The study followed a double-blind within-subjects design. Nineteen older adults (8 females; mean age = 73.6 years, range = 56 to 86 years) with moderate to severe hearing loss participated. The cortical auditory-evoked potential was measured over 400 presentations of a synthetic /da/ stimulus which was delivered binaurally in a simulated aided mode using shielded ear-insert transducers. Sequences of the /da/ syllable were presented from the front at 75 dB SPL-C with continuous speech-shaped noise presented from the back at signal-to-noise ratios of 0, 5, and 10 dB. Four hearing aid conditions were tested: (1) omnidirectional microphone (OM) with noise reduction (NR) disabled, (2) OM with NR enabled, (3) directional microphone (DM) with NR disabled, and (4) DM with NR enabled. Lateralization of the P1 component and N1P2 complex was quantified across electrodes spanning the mid-coronal plane. Subsequently, listener speech-in-noise performance was assessed using the Repeat-Recall Test at the same signal-to-noise ratios and hearing aid conditions used to measure cortical activity. Results: As expected, both the P1 component and the N1P2 complex were of greater magnitude in electrodes over the left compared to the right hemisphere. In addition, N1 and P2 peaks tended to occur earlier over the left hemisphere, although the effect was mediated by an interaction of signal-to-noise ratio and hearing aid technology. At a group level, degrees of lateralization for the P1 component and the N1P2 complex were enhanced in the DM relative to the OM mode. Moreover, linear mixed-effects models suggested that the degree of leftward lateralization in the N1P2 complex, but not the P1 component, accounted for a significant portion of variability in speech-in-noise performance that was not related to age, hearing loss, hearing aid processing, or signal-to-noise ratio. Conclusions: A robust leftward lateralization of cortical potentials was observed in older listeners when tested in the aided mode. Moreover, the degree of lateralization was enhanced by hearing aid technologies that improve the signal-to-noise ratio for speech. Accounting for the effects of signal-to-noise ratio, hearing aid technology, semantic context, and audiometric thresholds, individual differences in left-lateralized speech-evoked cortical activity were found to predict listeners’ speech-in-noise abilities. Quantifying cortical auditory-evoked potential component lateralization may then be useful for...

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The Influence of Noise Type and Semantic Predictability on Word Recall in Older Listeners and Listeners With Hearing Impairment

Carter

Apoux

Healy

2022

J Speech Lang Hear Res

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Purpose: A dual-task paradigm was implemented to investigate how noise type and sentence context may interact with age and hearing loss to impact word recall during speech recognition. Method: Three noise types with varying degrees of temporal/spectrotemporal modulation were used: speech-shaped noise, speech-modulated noise, and three-talker babble. Participant groups included younger listeners with normal hearing (NH), older listeners with near-normal hearing, and older listeners with sensorineural hearing loss. An adaptive measure was used to establish the signal-to-noise ratio approximating 70% sentence recognition for each participant in each noise type. A word-recall task was then implemented while matching speech-recognition performance across noise types and participant groups. Random-intercept linear mixed-effects models were used to determine the effects of and interactions between noise type, sentence context, and participant group on word recall. Results: The results suggest that noise type does not significantly impact word recall when word-recognition performance is controlled. When data from noise types were pooled and compared with quiet, and recall was assessed: older listeners with near-normal hearing performed well when either quiet backgrounds or high sentence context (or both) were present, but older listeners with hearing loss performed well only when both quiet backgrounds and high sentence context were present. Younger listeners with NH were robust to the detrimental effects of noise and low context. Conclusions: The general presence of noise has the potential to decrease word recall, but type of noise does not appear to significantly impact this observation when overall task difficulty is controlled. The presence of noise as well as deficits related to age and/or hearing loss appear to limit the availability of cognitive processing resources available for working memory during conversation in difficult listening environments. The conversation environments that impact these resources appear to differ depending on age and/or hearing status.

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An Integrative Evaluation of the Efficacy of a Directional Microphone and Noise-Reduction Algorithm under Realistic Signal-to-Noise Ratios

Cited by 9 publications

References 46 publications

Using the Repeat-Recall Test to Examine Factors Affecting Context Use

Using the Repeat-Recall Test to Examine Factors Affecting Context Use

Left Lateralization of the Cortical Auditory-Evoked Potential Reflects Aided Processing and Speech-in-Noise Performance of Older Listeners With a Hearing Loss

The Influence of Noise Type and Semantic Predictability on Word Recall in Older Listeners and Listeners With Hearing Impairment

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