Benefits of speech recognition in noise using remote microphones for people with typical hearing.

Introduction: Remote microphone (RM) systems are designed to enhance speech recognition in noisy environments by improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for individuals with typical hearing (TH) and hearing impairment (HI). The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the advantages of speech recognition in noise for individuals with TH in a simulated group setting using two different remote microphones.

Methods: A quasi-experimental, repeated-measures design was employed, involving ten participants with TH, ages 20 to 63 years.

Verification of EasyGain Settings in the Roger Remote Microphone System.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate how the EasyGain settings on a wireless receiver used with a remote microphone (RM) affected output as a function of hearing loss and receiver type.

Method: To assess the effects of the EasyGain setting on a Roger receiver, a Phonak Naida V90 superpower hearing aid (HA), two universal Roger X (02) receivers, two Roger 18 integrated receivers, and a Roger Inspiro transmitter were used. An electroacoustic evaluation was performed for five degrees of hearing loss ranging from a flat 40 to 80 dB HL, and for nine EasyGain settings from +8 to -8 dB with each Roger receiver.

Speech Perception in Noise Predicts Oral Narrative Comprehension in Children With Developmental Language Disorder.

We examined the relative contribution of auditory processing abilities (tone perception and speech perception in noise) after controlling for short-term memory capacity and vocabulary, to narrative language comprehension in children with developmental language disorder. Two hundred and sixteen children with developmental language disorder, ages 6 to 9 years ( = 7; 6), were administered multiple measures. The dependent variable was children's score on the narrative comprehension scale of the .

Smartphone-based single-channel speech enhancement application for hearing aids.

This work presents a single-channel speech enhancement (SE) framework based on the super-Gaussian extension of the joint maximum a posteriori (SGJMAP) estimation rule. The developed SE algorithm is an open-source research smartphone-based application for hearing improvement studies. In this algorithm, the SGJMAP-based estimation for noisy speech mixture is smoothed along the frequency axis by a Mel filter-bank, resulting in a Mel-warped frequency-domain SGJMAP estimation.

Development and Pilot Testing of Smartphone-Based Hearing Test Application.

Background: Identifying and treating hearing loss can help improve communication skills, which often leads to improved quality of life. Many people do not seek medical treatment and, therefore, go undiagnosed for an extended period before realizing they have hearing loss. This study presents a self-administered, low-cost, smartphone-based hearing test application (HearTest) to quantify the pure-tone hearing thresholds of a user.

Communicating During COVID-19: The Effect of Transparent Masks for Speech Recognition in Noise.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the speech recognition in noise when using a transparent mask that allows greater visibility of the talker's face compared to an opaque mask in persons with normal and impaired hearing via an online format.

Design: A repeated-measures design was used to evaluate the auditory-visual recognition of sentences recorded in background noise with transparent and opaque face masks, and without a mask (N = 154). In a smaller follow-up study (N = 29), the same files were presented via auditory-only presentation to determine if differences observed in the transparent and opaque mask conditions were attributable to additional visual cues or to acoustic differences between the recordings of the two mask types.

The Acoustic Transparency of Waterproof Smartphone Cases.

Phone use is a critical communication event in many people's lives. Audiologists have aimed to assist individuals with hearing loss and phone usage through the use of technology and counseling. To counsel effectively, all contributions to hearing difficulty on the phone must be considered, including the effects of smartphone cases.

Behavioral Validation of the Smartphone for Remote Microphone Technology.

As part of a National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Deafness and Other communication Disorders (NIH-NIDCD)-supported project to develop open-source research and smartphone-based apps for enhancing speech recognition in noise, an app called Smartphone Hearing Aid Research Project Version 2 (SHARP-2) was tested with persons with normal and impaired hearing when using three sets of hearing aids (HAs) with wireless connectivity to an iPhone. Participants were asked to type sentences presented from a speaker in front of them while hearing noise from behind in two conditions, HA alone and HA + SHARP-2 app running on the iPhone. The signal was presented at a constant level of 65 dBA and the signal-to-noise ratio varied from -10 to +10, so that the task was difficult when listening through the bilateral HAs alone.

Between the Listener and the Talker: Connectivity Options.

Hearing aids are often not sufficient for optimal communication between a listener and a talker. Therefore, numerous options for wireless connectivity between the listener and the talker designed to improve communication have become widely available. From the original wireless option of the induction loop system, most of the current solutions involve a digital signal with high quality and limited interference.

Guidelines for Best Practice in the Audiological Management of Adults with Severe and Profound Hearing Loss.

Individuals with severe to profound hearing loss are likely to present with complex listening needs that require evidence-based solutions. This document is intended to inform the practice of hearing care professionals who are involved in the audiological management of adults with a severe to profound degree of hearing loss and will highlight the special considerations and practices required to optimize outcomes for these individuals.

Benefits in Speech Recognition in Noise with Remote Wireless Microphones in Group Settings.

Background: Although hearing aids (HAs) and cochlear implants (CIs) can provide significant benefits to persons with hearing loss, users frequently report difficulty hearing in noisy environments, particularly when there are multiple talkers. Little is known about the benefits provided by currently available wireless microphones in multitalker situations.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the benefits received in speech recognition in noise by adults with hearing loss when using two different wireless microphone types in a simulated group setting.

A Hearing Test Simulator GUI for clinical testing of speech recognition.

This paper presents an overview of a useful MATLAB based GUI for speech recognition testing to evaluate the subjects' ability in noisy environments with different SNR values. With this software package, stimuli are presented and the examiner is able to identify which words are correctly perceived. Test data can be collected in various conditions to measure the performance as signal-to-noise ratio or signal processing varies.

Smartphone-based noise adaptive speech enhancement for hearing aid applications.

It is well established that the presence of environmental noises has a negative impact on the performance of hearing aid devices. This paper addresses a noise adaptive speech enhancement solution for the purpose of improving the performance of hearing aid devices in noisy environments. Depending on three noise types of babble, machinery, and driving car, the parameters of a recently developed speech enhancement algorithm are appropriately adjusted to gain improved speech understanding performance in noisy environments.

Comparison of speech recognition with adaptive digital and FM remote microphone hearing assistance technology by listeners who use hearing aids.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the benefits of 3 types of remote microphone hearing assistance technology (HAT), adaptive digital broadband, adaptive frequency modulation (FM), and fixed FM, through objective and subjective measures of speech recognition in clinical and real-world settings.

Method: Participants included 11 adults, ages 16 to 78 years, with primarily moderate-to-severe bilateral hearing impairment (HI), who wore binaural behind-the-ear hearing aids; and 15 adults, ages 18 to 30 years, with normal hearing. Sentence recognition in quiet and in noise and subjective ratings were obtained in 3 conditions of wireless signal processing.

Auditory training of speech recognition with interrupted and continuous noise maskers by children with hearing impairment.

Previous studies have indicated that individuals with normal hearing (NH) experience a perceptual advantage for speech recognition in interrupted noise compared to continuous noise. In contrast, adults with hearing impairment (HI) and younger children with NH receive a minimal benefit. The objective of this investigation was to assess whether auditory training in interrupted noise would improve speech recognition in noise for children with HI and perhaps enhance their utilization of glimpsing skills.

Service learning in auditory rehabilitation courses: the University of Texas at Dallas.

Purpose: The aim of this work was to review service learning (SL) principles and its implementation into the auditory rehabilitation (AR) curriculum at the University of Texas at Dallas and to evaluate the courses to determine whether potential benefits of SL are worth the substantial time commitment and course restructuring.

Method: Via retrospective review, student outcomes for 25 students from 3 cohorts who completed the adult AR course prior to implementation of SL curriculum (pre-SL) were compared with those of 28 students from 3 SL cohorts. Data included final examination grades, ratings for overall course content, amount learned, clarity of responsibility, workload, relevance, and course comments.

The effects of selective consonant amplification on sentence recognition in noise by hearing-impaired listeners.

Weak consonants (e.g., stops) are more susceptible to noise than vowels, owing partially to their lower intensity.

Benefits of adaptive FM systems on speech recognition in noise for listeners who use hearing aids.

Purpose: To compare the benefits of adaptive FM and fixed FM systems through measurement of speech recognition in noise with adults and students in clinical and real-world settings.

Method: Five adults and 5 students with moderate-to-severe hearing loss completed objective and subjective speech recognition in noise measures with the 2 types of FM processing. Sentence recognition was evaluated in a classroom for 5 competing noise levels ranging from 54 to 80 dBA while the FM microphone was positioned 6 in.

The efficacy of Fast ForWord Language intervention in school-age children with language impairment: a randomized controlled trial.

Purpose: A randomized controlled trial was conducted to compare the language and auditory processing outcomes of children assigned to receive the Fast ForWord Language intervention (FFW-L) with the outcomes of children assigned to nonspecific or specific language intervention comparison treatments that did not contain modified speech.

Method: Two hundred sixteen children between the ages of 6 and 9 years with language impairments were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) Fast ForWord Language (FFW-L), (b) academic enrichment (AE), (c) computer-assisted language intervention (CALI), or (d) individualized language intervention (ILI) provided by a speech-language pathologist. All children received 1 hr and 40 min of treatment, 5 days per week, for 6 weeks.

Electroacoustic evaluation of frequency-modulated receivers interfaced with personal hearing aids.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the electroacoustic outputs of frequency-modulated (FM) systems coupled to hearing aids.

Method: Electroacoustic performance of FM systems coupled to hearing aids was determined for 3 FM receivers: body-worn with neck loop, ear-level nonprogrammable, and ear-level programmable. Systems were evaluated using the FM-advantage approach suggested by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's "Guidelines for Fitting and Monitoring FM Systems" (2002).

Speech Recognition in noise in children with cochlear implants while listening in bilateral, bimodal, and FM-system arrangements.

Purpose: Speech recognition performance in noise was examined in children with cochlear implants (CIs) when using (a) a second CI (bilateral group), (b) a hearing aid (HA) on the nonimplant ear (bimodal group), and (c) a frequency modulation (FM) system on 1 or both sides.

Method: While always maintaining use of the first CI, 2 groups participated in 6 conditions each using various listening arrangements with the second CI, HA, or FM system. Speech-in-noise thresholds were determined using simple phrases, classroom noise, and a method-of-limits approach.

The University of Texas at Dallas/Callier Center for Communication Disorders Doctor of Audiology Program.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe the history and resources of the doctor of audiology (AuD) program at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD)/Callier Center for Communication Disorders, as well as to provide an overview of the program.

Method: Data from 1999, when the AuD program was approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Program, to the present were reviewed.

Conclusions: The UTD/Callier Center AuD program includes more than 40 faculty members, spans 3 campuses, and has 8 research laboratories.

Speech recognition abilities of adults using cochlear implants with FM systems.

Speech recognition was evaluated for ten adults with normal hearing and eight adults with Nucleus cochlear implants (CIs) at several different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and with three frequency modulated (FM) system arrangements: desktop, body worn, and miniature direct connect. Participants were asked to repeat Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) sentences presented with speech noise in a classroom setting and percent correct word repetition was determined. Performance was evaluated for both normal-hearing and CI participants with the desktop soundfield system.

Hearing aid users benefit from induction loop when using digital cellular phones.

Objective: Hearing aid users have recently been reported to experience problems with electromagnetic interference when using digital cellular phones. This study was undertaken to investigate the possible benefit of an induction loop system developed for use with some cellular phone models, and also to compare the possible benefit in two languages (Finnish and American English) as well as the benefit with two hearing aid technologies (analog versus digital).

Design: The study was performed in controlled laboratory conditions at two tertiary care hearing health care centers, one in Oulu, Finland and the other in Dallas, in the United States.

Behavioral and electrophysiologic evidence of auditory processing disorder: a twin study.

We administered a battery of both behavioral and electrophysiologic measures to a pair of fraternal twin girls, one of whom exhibited symptoms consistent with an auditory processing disorder. Both twins were within normal limits on standardized tests of cognitive and language skills. Basic audiometric measures, as well as behavioral tests of simultaneous masking, backward masking, gap detection, and frequency-sweep discrimination, showed little difference between the twins.