Identifying the perceptual factors that contribute to older listeners'''' dynamic pitch benefit for speech recognition in noise.

识别有助于老年听众动态音高的感知因素，有利于噪声中的语音识别。

• 批准号: 10247973
• 负责人: Jing Shen
• 金额: $ 14.21万
• 依托单位: TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-05-01 至 2022-04-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10247973
• 关键词: Age; Auditory; Auditory Perception; Auditory Threshold; Chronic; Coupled; Cueing for speech; Cues; Custom; Development; Discrimination; Elderly; Environment; Evidence based intervention; Foundations; Frequencies; Goals; Hearing; Hearing Aids; Impaired cognition; Individual; Intervention; Lead; Link; Location; Measures; Mediating; Noise; Outcomes Research; Pattern; Perception; Performance; Pitch Perception; Population; Process; Psycholinguistics; Quality of life; Research; Role; Social isolation; Source; Speech; Stimulus; Stream; Technology; Testing; Variant; Work; base; cohort; design; hearing impairment; improved; individual variation; novel; psychologic; segregation; signal processing; speech in noise; speech recognition; stem; theories

Abstract The majority of older adults with hearing loss, which is as large as one tenth of the U.S. population, have significant difficulty understanding speech in noisy environments. The potential consequences that can stem from this speech-in-noise problem include increased social isolation, cognitive decline, and psychological disturbance. While current amplification technology has not solved the speech-in-noise problem, new interventions have the potential to improve speech recognition in noise by engaging and enhancing perceptual cues, such as dynamic pitch. Dynamic pitch, as defined by the variation of fundamental frequency, aids speech recognition in noise for older adults with hearing loss. The variability, however, is substantial across individuals. To achieve the ultimate goal of enhancing dynamic pitch and improve speech recognition in noise, it is critical to understand the variability in older individuals’ benefit from dynamic pitch cues. This proposal aims to identify the perceptual factors contributing to this variability in dynamic pitch benefit among older individuals with hearing loss. The first specific aim is to establish the contribution of spectral perception to the individual variability in dynamic pitch benefit among older individuals with hearing loss. Older individuals’ ability to perceive static and dynamic spectral cues will be measured. It is hypothesized that poor performance in one or both of these two tasks will significantly contribute to an older individual’ inability to benefit from dynamic pitch cues in noise. The second specific aim is to determine the role of dynamic pitch glimpsing ability in dynamic pitch benefit for speech recognition in noise among older individuals with hearing loss. Older individuals’ dynamic pitch glimpsing ability will be characterized using a novel metric that simulates pitch perception in continuous speech. The dynamic pitch glimpsing ability is anticipated to be a significant factor that influences individuals’ dynamic pitch benefit in fluctuating noise. Drawn upon auditory scene perception theory, the third specific aim is to identify the relationship between older individuals’ ability to use pitch cues for stream segregation and dynamic pitch benefit in speech maskers. It is hypothesized that individuals with poor stream segregation ability are less capable of utilizing dynamic pitch cues to separate target speech from masker and in turn, benefit less from dynamic pitch in speech recognition. Older individuals’ ability to use pitch cues for stream segregation will be measured with a multi-tone pattern segregation task. This measure will be used to predict individuals’ dynamic pitch benefit in speech maskers. Research outcomes will provide a better understanding of the perceptual factors that contribute to the highly variable benefit from dynamic pitch in older individuals with hearing loss. This information will serve as the foundation for the development of different pitch enhancement strategies that target specific sources of difficulty within individuals.

抽象的 大多数听力损失的老年人（与美国人口十分之一一样大） 在噪声环境中的艰难理解语音。可能阻止的潜在后果 来自这个噪音的问题包括增加社会隔离，认知能力下降和心理 干扰。虽然当前的放大技术尚未解决噪声问题，但新的问题 干预措施有可能通过参与和增强感知来改善噪声中的语音识别 提示，例如动态音高。由基本频率变化所定义的动态音高有助于语音 听力损失的老年人的噪音识别。但是，各个个体之间的可变性很大。 为了实现增强动态音高并改善噪音中语音识别的最终目标，这是至关重要的 了解老年人从动态音调提示中受益的可变性。该建议旨在确定 感知因素导致这种动态音调差异的这种变异性，年龄较大的人 听力损失。第一个具体目的是建立光谱感知对个体的贡献 听力损失的老年人的动态音高的差异受益。老年人的能力 将测量感知的静态和动态光谱线索。假设一个或 这两个任务中的这两个任务都将显着有助于老年人无法从动态音调中受益 提示噪音。第二个具体目的是确定动态音高瞥见能力在动态中的作用 听力损失的老年人中噪音中语音识别的音调益处。老年人的 动态音高瞥见能力将使用新型度量标准来表征 连续的言语。预计动态音高瞥见能力将是影响的重要因素 个体的动态音高会受益于波动的噪音。利用听觉场景感知理论，第三 具体的目的是确定老年人使用音调提示作为流的能力之间的关系 隔离和动态音高受益于语音遮罩。假设溪流差的人 隔离能力较少能够使用动态音调提示将目标语音与蒙版分开的能力和 反过来，在语音识别中，动态音调的好处较少。老年人使用音调提示的能力 流隔离将通过多色调模式分离任务进行测量。该措施将用于 预测个人在语音遮罩中的动态音调好处。研究成果将提供更好的 了解较旧的动态音高有助于高度可变的感知因素的理解 听力损失的人。这些信息将成为开发不同音调的基础 针对个人内部特定困难来源的增强策略。