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Meng C, Guo Q, Lyu J, Jaquish A, Chen X, Xu L. Lexical tone recognition in multi-talker babbles and steady-state noise by Mandarin-speaking children with unilateral cochlear implants or bimodal hearing. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2024; 182:112020. [PMID: 38964177 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2024.112020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2024] [Revised: 06/02/2024] [Accepted: 06/23/2024] [Indexed: 07/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Lexical tone presents challenges to cochlear implant (CI) users especially in noise conditions. Bimodal hearing utilizes residual acoustic hearing in the contralateral side and may offer benefits for tone recognition in noise. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate tone recognition in both steady-state noise and multi-talker babbles by the prelingually-deafened, Mandarin-speaking children with unilateral CIs or bimodal hearing. METHODS Fifty-three prelingually-deafened, Mandarin-speaking children who received CIs participated in this study. Twenty-two of them were unilateral CI users and 31 wore a hearing aid (HA) in the contralateral ear (i.e., bimodal hearing). All subjects were tested for Mandarin tone recognition in quiet and in two types of maskers: speech-spectrum-shaped noise (SSN) and two-talker babbles (TTB) at four signal-to-noise ratios (-6, 0, +6, and +12 dB). RESULTS While no differences existed in tone recognition in quiet between the two groups, the Bimodal group outperformed the Unilateral CI group under noise conditions. The differences between the two groups were significant at SNRs of 0, +6, and +12 dB in the SSN conditions (all p < 0.05), and at SNRs of +6 and +12 dB of TTB conditions (both p < 0.01), but not significant at other conditions (p > 0.05). The TTB exerted a greater masking effect than the SSN for tone recognition in the Unilateral CI group as well as in the Bimodal group at all SNRs tested (all p < 0.05). Among demographic or audiometric variables, only age at implantation showed a weak but significant correlation with the mean tone recognition performance under the SSN conditions (r = -0.276, p = 0.045). However, when Bonferroni correction was applied to the correlation analysis results, the weak correlation became not significant. CONCLUSION Prelingually-deafened children with CIs face challenges in tone perception in noisy environments, especially when the noise is fluctuating in amplitude such as the multi-talker babbles. Wearing a HA on the contralateral side when residual hearing permits is beneficial for tone recognition in noise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Meng
- Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100730, China; Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Qianqian Guo
- Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100730, China; Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Jing Lyu
- Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100730, China; Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Abigail Jaquish
- Department of Hearing, Speech & Language Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA
| | - Xueqing Chen
- Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100730, China; Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (Capital Medical University), Ministry of Education, Beijing, 100730, China.
| | - Li Xu
- Department of Hearing, Speech & Language Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA; Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, Asia University, Taichung, 41354, Taiwan.
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Levin M, Zaltz Y. Voice Discrimination in Quiet and in Background Noise by Simulated and Real Cochlear Implant Users. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2023; 66:5169-5186. [PMID: 37992412 DOI: 10.1044/2023_jslhr-23-00019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Cochlear implant (CI) users demonstrate poor voice discrimination (VD) in quiet conditions based on the speaker's fundamental frequency (fo) and formant frequencies (i.e., vocal-tract length [VTL]). Our purpose was to examine the effect of background noise at levels that allow good speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) on VD via acoustic CI simulations and CI hearing. METHOD Forty-eight normal-hearing (NH) listeners who listened via noise-excited (n = 20) or sinewave (n = 28) vocoders and 10 prelingually deaf CI users (i.e., whose hearing loss began before language acquisition) participated in the study. First, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) that yields 70.7% correct SRT was assessed using an adaptive sentence-in-noise test. Next, the CI simulation listeners performed 12 adaptive VDs: six in quiet conditions, two with each cue (fo, VTL, fo + VTL), and six amid speech-shaped noise. The CI participants performed six VDs: one with each cue, in quiet and amid noise. SNR at VD testing was 5 dB higher than the individual's SRT in noise (SRTn +5 dB). RESULTS Results showed the following: (a) Better VD was achieved via the noise-excited than the sinewave vocoder, with the noise-excited vocoder better mimicking CI VD; (b) background noise had a limited negative effect on VD, only for the CI simulation listeners; and (c) there was a significant association between SNR at testing and VTL VD only for the CI simulation listeners. CONCLUSIONS For NH listeners who listen to CI simulations, noise that allows good SRT can nevertheless impede VD, probably because VD depends more on bottom-up sensory processing. Conversely, for prelingually deaf CI users, noise that allows good SRT hardly affects VD, suggesting that they rely strongly on bottom-up processing for both VD and speech recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Levin
- Department of Communication Disorders, The Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
| | - Yael Zaltz
- Department of Communication Disorders, The Stanley Steyer School of Health Professions, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Israel
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Yang J, Sidhu J, Totino G, McKim S, Xu L. Accent rating of vocoded foreign-accented speech by native listeners. JASA EXPRESS LETTERS 2023; 3:095204. [PMID: 37747319 DOI: 10.1121/10.0020989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023]
Abstract
This study examined accent rating of speech samples collected from 12 Mandarin-accented English talkers and two native English talkers. The speech samples were processed with noise- and tone-vocoders at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 channels. The accentedness of the vocoded and unprocessed signals was judged by 53 native English listeners on a 9-point scale. The foreign-accented talkers were judged as having a less strong accent in the vocoded conditions than in the unprocessed condition. The native talkers and foreign-accented talkers with varying degrees of accentedness demonstrated different patterns of accent rating changes as a function of the number of channels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Yang
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA
| | - Jaskirat Sidhu
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201, USA
| | - Gabrielle Totino
- Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, , , , ,
| | - Sarah McKim
- Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, , , , ,
| | - Li Xu
- Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, , , , ,
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Xi X, Wang Y, Shi Y, Gao R, Li S, Qiu X, Wang Q, Xu L. Development and Validation of a Mandarin Chinese Adaptation of AzBio Sentence Test (CMnBio). Trends Hear 2022; 26:23312165221134007. [PMID: 36303434 PMCID: PMC9619879 DOI: 10.1177/23312165221134007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
A new sentence recognition test in Mandarin Chinese was developed and validated following the principles and procedures of development of the English AzBio sentence materials. The study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, 1,020 sentences spoken by 4 talkers (2 males and 2 females) were processed through a 5-channel noise vocoder and presented to 17 normal-hearing Mandarin-speaking adults for recognition. A total of 600 sentences (150 from each talker) in the range of approximately 62 to 92% correct (mean = 78.0% correct) were subsequently selected to compile 30, 20-sentence lists. In the second stage, 30 adult CI users were recruited to verify the list equivalency. A repeated-measures analysis of variance followed by the post hoc Tukey's test revealed that 26 of the 30 lists were equivalent. Finally, a binomial distribution model was adopted to account for the inherent variability in the lists. It was found that the inter-list variability could be best accounted for with a 65-item binomial distribution model. The lower and upper limits of the 95% critical differences for one- and two-list recognition scores were then generated to provide guidance for detection of a significant difference in recognition scores in clinical settings. The final set of 26 equivalent lists contains sentence materials more difficult than those found in other speech audiometry materials in Mandarin Chinese. This test should help minimize the ceiling effects when testing sentence recognition in Mandarin-speaking CI users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Xi
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, The Sixth
Medical Center, Chinese PLA
General Hospital, Beijing, China,National Clinical Research Center for Otolaryngologic Diseases,
Beijing, China
| | - Ye Wang
- Department of Otolaryngology, Zhejiang
Hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Ya Shi
- School of Medical Technology, Zhejiang Chinese Medical
University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Rui Gao
- School of BioMedical Engineering, Capital Medical
University, Beijing, China
| | - Siqi Li
- School of Communication Science, Beijing Language and Culture
University, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyue Qiu
- School of Medical Technology, Zhejiang Chinese Medical
University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Qian Wang
- Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, The Sixth
Medical Center, Chinese PLA
General Hospital, Beijing, China,National Clinical Research Center for Otolaryngologic Diseases,
Beijing, China
| | - Li Xu
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, Ohio University, Athens, OH,
USA,Li Xu, Communication Sciences and
Disorders, Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
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Differential weighting of temporal envelope cues from the low-frequency region for Mandarin sentence recognition in noise. BMC Neurosci 2022; 23:35. [PMID: 35698039 PMCID: PMC9190152 DOI: 10.1186/s12868-022-00721-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Temporal envelope cues are conveyed by cochlear implants (CIs) to hearing loss patients to restore hearing. Although CIs could enable users to communicate in clear listening environments, noisy environments still pose a problem. To improve speech-processing strategies used in Chinese CIs, we explored the relative contributions made by the temporal envelope in various frequency regions, as relevant to Mandarin sentence recognition in noise. METHODS Original speech material from the Mandarin version of the Hearing in Noise Test (MHINT) was mixed with speech-shaped noise (SSN), sinusoidally amplitude-modulated speech-shaped noise (SAM SSN), and sinusoidally amplitude-modulated (SAM) white noise (4 Hz) at a + 5 dB signal-to-noise ratio, respectively. Envelope information of the noise-corrupted speech material was extracted from 30 contiguous bands that were allocated to five frequency regions. The intelligibility of the noise-corrupted speech material (temporal cues from one or two regions were removed) was measured to estimate the relative weights of temporal envelope cues from the five frequency regions. RESULTS In SSN, the mean weights of Regions 1-5 were 0.34, 0.19, 0.20, 0.16, and 0.11, respectively; in SAM SSN, the mean weights of Regions 1-5 were 0.34, 0.17, 0.24, 0.14, and 0.11, respectively; and in SAM white noise, the mean weights of Regions 1-5 were 0.46, 0.24, 0.22, 0.06, and 0.02, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that the temporal envelope in the low-frequency region transmits the greatest amount of information in terms of Mandarin sentence recognition for three types of noise, which differed from the perception strategy employed in clear listening environments.
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Taitelbaum-Swead R, Dahan T, Katzenel U, Dorman MF, Litvak LM, Fostick L. AzBio Sentence test in Hebrew (HeBio): development, preliminary validation, and the effect of noise. Cochlear Implants Int 2022; 23:270-279. [DOI: 10.1080/14670100.2022.2083285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Riki Taitelbaum-Swead
- Department of Communication Disorders, Ariel University, Israel
- Meuhedet Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Tzofit Dahan
- The Audiology Service, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Udi Katzenel
- Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Kaplan Medical Center, Rehovot, Israel
- Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Michael F. Dorman
- Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, Tempe, USA
| | | | - Leah Fostick
- Department of Communication Disorders, Ariel University, Israel
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Qi S, Chen X, Yang J, Wang X, Tian X, Huang H, Rehmann J, Kuehnel V, Guan J, Xu L. Effects of Adaptive Non-linear Frequency Compression in Hearing Aids on Mandarin Speech and Sound-Quality Perception. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:722970. [PMID: 34483833 PMCID: PMC8414550 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.722970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective This study was aimed at examining the effects of an adaptive non-linear frequency compression algorithm implemented in hearing aids (i.e., SoundRecover2, or SR2) at different parameter settings and auditory acclimatization on speech and sound-quality perception in native Mandarin-speaking adult listeners with sensorineural hearing loss. Design Data consisted of participants’ unaided and aided hearing thresholds, Mandarin consonant and vowel recognition in quiet, and sentence recognition in noise, as well as sound-quality ratings through five sessions in a 12-week period with three SR2 settings (i.e., SR2 off, SR2 default, and SR2 strong). Study Sample Twenty-nine native Mandarin-speaking adults aged 37–76 years old with symmetric sloping moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss were recruited. They were all fitted bilaterally with Phonak Naida V90-SP BTE hearing aids with hard ear-molds. Results The participants demonstrated a significant improvement of aided hearing in detecting high frequency sounds at 8 kHz. For consonant recognition and overall sound-quality rating, the participants performed significantly better with the SR2 default setting than the other two settings. No significant differences were found in vowel and sentence recognition among the three SR2 settings. Test session was a significant factor that contributed to the participants’ performance in all speech and sound-quality perception tests. Specifically, the participants benefited from a longer duration of hearing aid use. Conclusion Findings from this study suggested possible perceptual benefit from the adaptive non-linear frequency compression algorithm for native Mandarin-speaking adults with moderate-to-profound hearing loss. Periods of acclimatization should be taken for better performance in novel technologies in hearing aids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuang Qi
- Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Capital Medical University, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Xueqing Chen
- Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Institute of Otolaryngology, Capital Medical University, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Jing Yang
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, United States
| | - Xianhui Wang
- Division of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Ohio University, Athens, OH, United States
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Li Xu
- Division of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Ohio University, Athens, OH, United States
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Villard S, Kidd G. Speech intelligibility and talker gender classification with noise-vocoded and tone-vocoded speech. JASA EXPRESS LETTERS 2021; 1:094401. [PMID: 34590078 PMCID: PMC8456348 DOI: 10.1121/10.0006285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/21/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Vocoded speech provides less spectral information than natural, unprocessed speech, negatively affecting listener performance on speech intelligibility and talker gender classification tasks. In this study, young normal-hearing participants listened to noise-vocoded and tone-vocoded (i.e., sinewave-vocoded) sentences containing 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 channels, as well as non-vocoded sentences, and reported the words heard as well as the gender of the talker. Overall, performance was significantly better with tone-vocoded than noise-vocoded speech for both tasks. Within the talker gender classification task, biases in performance were observed for lower numbers of channels, especially when using the noise carrier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Villard
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences & Hearing Research Center, Boston University, 635 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, ,
| | - Gerald Kidd
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences & Hearing Research Center, Boston University, 635 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, ,
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Wang X, Xu L. Speech perception in noise: Masking and unmasking. J Otol 2021; 16:109-119. [PMID: 33777124 PMCID: PMC7985001 DOI: 10.1016/j.joto.2020.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2020] [Accepted: 12/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Speech perception is essential for daily communication. Background noise or concurrent talkers, on the other hand, can make it challenging for listeners to track the target speech (i.e., cocktail party problem). The present study reviews and compares existing findings on speech perception and unmasking in cocktail party listening environments in English and Mandarin Chinese. The review starts with an introduction section followed by related concepts of auditory masking. The next two sections review factors that release speech perception from masking in English and Mandarin Chinese, respectively. The last section presents an overall summary of the findings with comparisons between the two languages. Future research directions with respect to the difference in literature on the reviewed topic between the two languages are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xianhui Wang
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA
| | - Li Xu
- Communication Sciences and Disorders, Ohio University, Athens, OH, 45701, USA
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