Evaluation of hearing loss simulation using a speech intelligibility index

2016-01-01
ARIÖZ, UMUT
Günel Kılıç, Banu
Hearing loss simulation (HLS) is a useful tool for hearing studies, since finding large numbers of hearing impaired volunteers with various levels of hearing loss is usually a problem. Correct simulation of the hearing impaired ear should take into account different suprathreshold effects, such as reduced frequency selectivity, reduced audibility, and loudness recruitment. Although these effects can be implemented using various algorithms, so far they have not been evaluated in detail taking into account subject dependency, effect of noisy environment, and phonetic characteristics of test words. In this study, for the purpose of evaluating the HLS, a speech intelligibility index (SII) was used as the objective measure and a modified rhyme test (MRT) was used as the subjective measure. Hearing loss of 12 subjects was simulated using various stimuli and 36 subjects with normal hearing were used as a control group. The factors that affect the performance of HLS algorithms were initially determined using the SII metric. Three other factors (sex of speaker, background noise level, and characteristics of the words) were tested both by the SII metric and the MRT. The lists contained word groups designed according to Turkish phonetic characteristics. In addition, the results of the MRT were compared with the results of the SII for both original and simulated sounds. According to the mean values and correlation analysis, both measures gave similar and reliable results for the HLS (58.40 and 57.37 for MRT mean values of unprocessed and simulated sounds, respectively; 0.23 for MRT mean values of unprocessed and processed sounds; 58% and 74% correlation coefficients for MRT and SII, respectively). When statistical significances of the measures were taken into account, the MRT gave more reliable results than the SII. While sounds were simulated in a satisfactory manner in both the noise-free environment and noisy environment for the MRT, similar results for the SII were obtained only in the noise-free environment. Because of high sensitivity of the SII to noise, the results were not satisfactory for the noisy cases. After the simulation, sex of the speaker and test list factors were found to be significant with the noise factor for the MRT.
TURKISH JOURNAL OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCES

Suggestions

Optimization of Frequency Lowering Algorithms for Getting the Highest Speech Intelligibility Improvement by Hearing Loss Simulation
ARIÖZ, UMUT; Günel Kılıç, Banu (2015-06-01)
High frequency hearing loss is a growing problem for both children and adults. To overcome this impairment, different frequency lowering methods (FLMs) were tried from 1930s, however no satisfaction was provided up to now. In this study, for getting higher speech intelligibility, eight combinations of FLMs which were designed originally were tried with simulated sounds onto normal hearing subjects. These improvements were calculated by the difference with standard hearing aid method, amplification. High fre...
Developing subject specific frequency lowering algorithms with simulated hearing loss for the enhancement of sensorineural hearing loss
Arıöz, Umut; Günel Kılıç, Banu; Department of Health Informatics (2012)
The hearing and understanding problems of the people with high frequency hearing loss are covered within the scope of this thesis. For overcoming these problems, two main studies, developing hearing loss simulation (HLS) and applying new frequency lowering methods (FLMs) were carried out. HLS was developed with the suprathreshold effects and new FLMs were applied with different combinations of the FLMs. For evaluating the studies, modified rhyme test (MRT) and speech intelligibility index (SII) were used as...
Mutations in the Wolfram syndrome 1 gene (WFS1) are a common cause of low frequency sensorineural hearing loss
Bespalova, I. N. (Oxford University Press (OUP), 2001-10-1)
Non-syndromic low frequency sensorineural hearing loss (LFSNHL) affecting only 2000 Hz and below is an unusual type of hearing loss that worsens over time without progressing to profound deafness. This type of LFSNHL may be associated with mild tinnitus but is not associated with vertigo. We have previously reported two families with autosomal dominant LFSNHL linked to adjacent but non-overlapping loci on 4p16, DFNA6 and DFNA14. However, further study revealed that an individual with LFSNHL in the DFNA6 fam...
LOW POWER HIGHLY PROGRAMMABLE ANALOG FRONT-END FOR 12-CHANNEL FULLY IMPLANTABLE COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
Özbek, Abdurrahman Berkay; Külah, Haluk; Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (2021-12-17)
Cochlear implants are the most common treatment option for individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. However, despite the functional success, the patients have concerns about the aesthetics and practicality of the device. Fully implantable cochlear implants (FICI), on the other hand, have a promising future to overcome these drawbacks by replacing the external components with an acoustic sensor and interface electronics. To achieve a high quality of hearing, the interface electronics should effectively d...
Preliminary results of a novel enhancement method for high-frequency hearing loss
Arioz, Umut; Arda, Kemal; Tuncel, Umit (Elsevier BV, 2011-06-01)
In this study, a software program was developed for high-frequency hearing loss subjects that includes a detailed audiogram and novel enhancement methods. The software performs enhancements of the audibility of high-frequency sounds according to the subject's detailed 31-point audiogram. This provides subject-specific gains in the entire frequency spectrum, and especially for high frequencies, of sounds. Amplification, compression, and transposition are the three main processing methods used to obtain the d...
Citation Formats
U. ARIÖZ and B. Günel Kılıç, “Evaluation of hearing loss simulation using a speech intelligibility index,” TURKISH JOURNAL OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCES, pp. 4193–4207, 2016, Accessed: 00, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/31409.