The Influence of Male- and Female-Spoken Vowel Acoustics on Envelope-Following Responses.

The influence of male and female vowel characteristics on the envelope-following responses (EFRs) is not well understood. This study explored the role of vowel characteristics on the EFR at the fundamental frequency (f0) in response to the vowel /ε/ (as in "head"). Vowel tokens were spoken by five males and five females and EFRs were measured in 25 young adults (21 females).

Variability in the Estimated Amplitude of Vowel-Evoked Envelope Following Responses Caused by Assumed Neurophysiologic Processing Delays.

Vowel-evoked envelope following responses (EFRs) reflect neural encoding of the fundamental frequency of voice (f). Accurate analysis of EFRs elicited by natural vowels requires the use of methods like the Fourier analyzer (FA) to consider the production-related f changes. The FA's accuracy in estimating EFRs is, however, dependent on the assumed neurophysiological processing delay needed to time-align the f time course and the recorded electroencephalogram (EEG).

Characteristics of Speech-Evoked Envelope Following Responses in Infancy.

Envelope following responses (EFRs) may be a useful tool for evaluating the audibility of speech sounds in infants. The present study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of speech-evoked EFRs in infants with normal hearing, relative to adults, and identify age-dependent changes in EFR characteristics during infancy. In 42 infants and 21 young adults, EFRs were elicited by the first (F1) and the second and higher formants (F2+) of the vowels /u/, /a/, and /i/, dominant in low and mid frequencies, respectively, and by amplitude-modulated fricatives /s/ and /∫/, dominant in high frequencies.

The accuracy of standard audiometric hearing level thresholds in pediatric patients.

Objectives: Standard audiograms provide decibels Hearing Level (dB HL) thresholds, which are referenced to normative values specified in decibels Sound Pressure Level in an acoustic coupler. Due to variability in external ear acoustics, the actual sound levels reaching the eardrum can vary across individuals. The real-ear to coupler difference (RECD) is a frequency-specific measurement of the difference between sound levels measured at the eardrum and in a coupler.

Test-Retest Variability in the Characteristics of Envelope Following Responses Evoked by Speech Stimuli.

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the between-session test-retest variability in the characteristics of envelope following responses (EFRs) evoked by modified natural speech stimuli in young normal hearing adults.

Design: EFRs from 22 adults were recorded in two sessions, 1 to 12 days apart. EFRs were evoked by the token /susa∫ i/ (2.

Noise-induced Cochlear Synaptopathy and Signal Processing Disorders.

Noise-induced hidden hearing loss (NIHHL) has attracted great attention in hearing research and clinical audiology since the discovery of significant noise-induced synaptic damage in the absence of permanent threshold shifts (PTS) in animal models. Although the extant evidence for this damage is based on animal models, NIHHL likely occurs in humans as well. This review focuses on three issues concerning NIHHL that are somewhat controversial: (1) whether disrupted synapses can be re-established; (2) whether synaptic damage and repair are responsible for the initial temporal threshold shifts (TTS) and subsequent recovery; and (3) the relationship between the synaptic damage and repair processes and neural coding deficits.

Phase-locked responses to the vowel envelope vary in scalp-recorded amplitude due to across-frequency response interactions.

Neural encoding of the envelope of sounds like vowels is essential to access temporal information useful for speech recognition. Subcortical responses to envelope periodicity of vowels can be assessed using scalp-recorded envelope following responses (EFRs); however, the amplitude of EFRs vary by vowel spectra and the causal relationship is not well understood. One cause for spectral dependency could be interactions between responses with different phases, initiated by multiple stimulus frequencies.

Phase delays between tone pairs reveal interactions in scalp-recorded envelope following responses.

Evoked potentials to envelope periodicity in sounds, such as vowels, are dependent on the stimulus spectrum. We hypothesize that phase differences between responses elicited by multiple frequencies spread tonotopically across the cochlear partition may contribute to variation in scalp-recorded amplitude. The present study evaluated this hypothesis by measuring envelope following responses (EFRs) to two concurrent tone pairs, p1 and p2, that approximated the first and second formant frequencies of a vowel, while controlling their relative envelope phase.

Coding Deficits in Noise-Induced Hidden Hearing Loss May Stem from Incomplete Repair of Ribbon Synapses in the Cochlea.

Recent evidence has shown that noise-induced damage to the synapse between inner hair cells (IHCs) and type I afferent auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) may occur in the absence of permanent threshold shift (PTS), and that synapses connecting IHCs with low spontaneous rate (SR) ANFs are disproportionately affected. Due to the functional importance of low-SR ANF units for temporal processing and signal coding in noisy backgrounds, deficits in cochlear coding associated with noise-induced damage may result in significant difficulties with temporal processing and hearing in noise (i.e.

Effect of Stimulus Level and Bandwidth on Speech-Evoked Envelope Following Responses in Adults With Normal Hearing.

Objective: The use of auditory evoked potentials as an objective outcome measure in infants fitted with hearing aids has gained interest in recent years. This article proposes a test paradigm using speech-evoked envelope following responses (EFRs) for use as an objective-aided outcome measure. The method uses a running speech-like, naturally spoken stimulus token /susa∫i/ (fundamental frequency [f0] = 98 Hz; duration 2.

Evaluation of Speech-Evoked Envelope Following Responses as an Objective Aided Outcome Measure: Effect of Stimulus Level, Bandwidth, and Amplification in Adults With Hearing Loss.

Objectives: The present study evaluated a novel test paradigm based on speech-evoked envelope following responses (EFRs) as an objective aided outcome measure for individuals fitted with hearing aids. Although intended for use in infants with hearing loss, this study evaluated the paradigm in adults with hearing loss, as a precursor to further evaluation in infants. The test stimulus was a naturally male-spoken token /susa∫i/, modified to enable recording of eight individual EFRs, two from each vowel for different formants and one from each fricative.

Sensitivity of envelope following responses to vowel polarity.

Envelope following responses (EFRs) elicited by stimuli of opposite polarities are often averaged due to their insensitivity to polarity when elicited by amplitude modulated tones. A recent report illustrates that individuals exhibit varying degrees of polarity-sensitive differences in EFR amplitude when elicited by vowel stimuli (Aiken and Purcell, 2013). The aims of the current study were to evaluate the incidence and degree of polarity-sensitive differences in EFRs recorded in a large group of individuals, and to examine potential factors influencing the polarity-sensitive nature of EFRs.

Envelope following responses elicited by English sentences.

Objectives: It would be clinically valuable if an electrophysiological validation of hearing aid effectiveness in conveying speech information could be performed when a device is first provided to the individual after electroacoustic verification. This study evaluated envelope following responses (EFRs) elicited by English vowels in a steady state context and in natural sentences. It was the purpose of this study to determine whether EFRs could be detected rapidly enough to be clinically useful.

Acoustic stapedius reflex function in man revisited.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the role of the acoustic stapedius reflex in the protection of speech recognition from the upward spread of masking arising from low-frequency background noise.

Design: Speech recognition scores were measured for nine control participants (19-34 years) and six patients with transected stapedius tendons poststapedotomy (39-57 years) as a function of the amplitude of a low-frequency masker, presented at nominal signal to noise ratios of +5 dB, -5 dB, and -15 dB. All participants had pure-tone hearing thresholds in the normal range.

Envelope and spectral frequency-following responses to vowel sounds.

Frequency-following responses (FFRs) were recorded to two naturally produced vowels (/a/ and /i/) in normal hearing subjects. A digitally implemented Fourier analyzer was used to measure response amplitude at the fundamental frequency and at 23 higher harmonics. Response components related to the stimulus envelope ("envelope FFR") were distinguished from components related to the stimulus spectrum ("spectral FFR") by adding or subtracting responses to opposite polarity stimuli.

Human cortical responses to the speech envelope.

Objective: To evaluate the response of the human auditory cortex to the temporal amplitude-envelope of speech. Responses to the speech envelope could be useful for validating the neural encoding of intelligible speech, particularly during hearing aid fittings--because hearing aid gain and compression characteristics for ongoing speech should more closely resemble real world performance than for isolated brief syllables.

Design: The speech envelope comprises energy changes corresponding to phonemic and syllabic transitions.

Envelope following responses to natural vowels.

Envelope following responses to natural vowels were recorded in 10 normal hearing people. Responses were recorded to individual vowels (/a/, /i/, /u/) with a relatively steady pitch, to /[symbol: see text]/ with a variable and steady pitch, and to a multivowel stimulus (/[symbol: see text]ui/) with a steady pitch. Responses were analyzed using a Fourier analyzer, so that recorded responses could follow the changes in the pitch.