Multichannel acoustic source and image dataset for the cocktail party effect in hearing aid and implant users

Fischer, Tim; Caversaccio, Marco; Wimmer, Wilhelm

doi:10.1038/s41597-020-00777-8

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Ageing and hearing-impaired listeners do not only struggle to understand speech in noise, but also show changes in neural entrainment to speech, implying a functional role for speech perception in noisy scenarios (Cabeza et al, 2002;Henry et al, 2017;Petersen et al, 2017). It is a common complaint amongst users that hearing aid can be inefficient in complex hearing scenarios (Fischer et al, 2020;Kochkin, 2000); moreover, speech stream segregation has been shown to worsen with age (Getzmann et al, 2017;Getzmann & Näätänen, 2015;Pichora-Fuller et al, 1995;Pichora-Fuller & Singh, 2006). TACS could therefore provide a way to assist struggling listeners in the processing of speech by enhancing entrainment in such situations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural entrainment to both target and distracting speech causally contributes to speech perception in a multi-speaker scenario

Erkens,

Marx,

Zoefel

2023

Preprint

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Segregating important stimuli from distractors is crucial for successful speech perception. Neural activity aligned to speech, also termed “neural entrainment”, is thought to be instrumental for this purpose. However, the relative contribution of neural entrainment to target and distractors in speech perception remained unclear. In this study, we used transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to manipulate entrainment to two simultaneously presented sequences of rhythmic speech while participants attended to one of them. A random temporal relationship between speech streams allowed us to disentangle effects of tACS on target and distractor processing, and to examine their combined effect on a behavioural measure of speech perception. We found that the phase relation between tACS and both target and distracting speech modulated word report accuracy, and to a similar degree. The phasic modulation of target processing correlated with that of the distractor across subjects, and their combined effect on speech perception was stronger than each of the two alone. In contrast to our expectation, the tACS phases leading to most accurate perception were uncorrelated between target and distracting speech modulations. Together, our results suggest that entrainment to target and distracting speech jointly and causally contributes to speech perception. They also demonstrate how effect sizes might be increased in future work and for technological or clinical applications.Significance statementSynchronising neural activity to moments of important information in speech is beneficial for its perception. Successful speech perception is a consequence of both target processing and the suppression of potential distractors; so far, it has remained unclear whether brain-speech synchronisation plays a more important role for either of these two tasks. We used transcranial brain stimulation (tACS) in a multi-speaker scenario to independently manipulate synchronisation to target- or distracting speech, respectively. We found that both manipulations led to changes in speech perception that were of comparable magnitude, and their combined effect was stronger than either of them alone. These results give an insight into the cortical processing of competing speech streams and how brain-speech synchronisation causally contributes to their perception. Our findings also have implications for practical applicability of brain stimulation protocols, showing how they could be used and made more effective in improving speech perception. This approach could have potential for medical application such as additional support in hearing aids.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neural entrainment to both target and distracting speech causally contributes to speech perception in a multi-speaker scenario

Erkens,

Marx,

Zoefel

2023

Preprint

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“…Future work may quantitatively investigate the hypothesis that the measurement accuracy of the smartwatch was directly dependent on the dynamics of the acoustic environment. To capture the influence of hand and wrist motion, data from the smartwatch's inertial measurement unit could be recorded during environmental noise measurements in simulated or real dynamic acoustic environments ( 32 , 33 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Smartwatches a Suitable Tool to Monitor Noise Exposure for Public Health Awareness and Otoprotection?

et al. 2022

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Introduction and ObjectivesNoise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and tinnitus are common problems that can be prevented with hearing protection measures. Sound level meters and noise dosimeters enable to monitor and identify health-threatening occupational or recreational noise, but are limited in their daily application because they are usually difficult to operate, bulky, and expensive. Smartwatches, which are becoming increasingly available and popular, could be a valuable alternative to professional systems. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the applicability of smartwatches for accurate environmental noise monitoring.MethodsThe A-weighted equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LAeq) was recorded and compared between a professional sound level meter and a popular smartwatch. Noise exposure was assessed in 13 occupational and recreational settings, covering a large range of sound pressure levels between 35 and 110 dBA. To assess measurement agreement, a Bland-Altman plot, linear regression, the intra-class correlation coefficient, and descriptive statistics were used.ResultsOverall, the smartwatch underestimated the sound level meter measurements by 0.5 dBA (95% confidence interval [0.2, 0.8]). The intra-class correlation coefficient showed excellent agreement between the two devices (ICC = 0.99), ranging from 0.65 (music club) to 0.99 (concert) across settings. The smartwatch's sampling rate decreased significantly with lower sound pressure levels, which could have introduced measurement inaccuracies in dynamic acoustic environments.ConclusionsThe assessment of ambient noise with the tested smartwatch is sufficiently accurate and reliable to improve awareness of hazardous noise levels in the personal environment and to conduct exploratory clinical research. For professional and legally binding measurements, we recommend specialized sound level meters or noise dosimeters. In the future, smartwatches will play an important role in monitoring personal noise exposure and will provide a widely available and cost-effective measure for otoprotection.

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“…The cocktail party effect refers to the ability of the human sense of hearing to extract a specific target sound source from a mixture of background noises in complex acoustic scenarios [17]. It has revealed the abilities that people can make a perceptual separation between a signal sound and a competing sound.…”

Section: Psychoacoustic Fundations and Design Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-Adaptive Mixing System for Spatial Audio in Virtual Reality

Jin,

Liu,

Shao

et al. 2024

Proceedings of the 10th Convention of the European Acoustics Association Forum Acusticum 2023

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The application of spatial audio in VR plays an important role in creating a sense of immersion. However, there are still some challenges in using spatial audio in VR: It is hard to design a purely virtual soundscape in VR. And if the virtual content is out of the ordinary, it may cause auditory disharmony and conflicts among sound sources if spatial audio design is only based on the purpose of realism. This study establishes a prototype of VR spatial audio mixing system, which sound elements can be adaptively adjusted according to the content viewed by users. In order to verify the actual effect of the system, the study further conducted corresponding user experiments, evaluating the perception of spatial audio in a VR prototype from five dimensions: "Naturalness", "Presence", "Preference", "Localization", and "Source Envelopment", and carried out structured interviews. The experiment showed that the application of the system could effectively improve the user's perception effect of VR spatial audio and bring a better sound experience. Based on this research, we hope to further develop an intelligent spatial audio system that can autonomously adjust and process sound effects based on the viewing behavior of VR users in the future.

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Multichannel acoustic source and image dataset for the cocktail party effect in hearing aid and implant users

Cited by 9 publications

References 55 publications

Neural entrainment to both target and distracting speech causally contributes to speech perception in a multi-speaker scenario

Neural entrainment to both target and distracting speech causally contributes to speech perception in a multi-speaker scenario

Are Smartwatches a Suitable Tool to Monitor Noise Exposure for Public Health Awareness and Otoprotection?

Self-Adaptive Mixing System for Spatial Audio in Virtual Reality

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