Acoustic Qualities of Phonation in Young Hearing-Impaired Children

1979 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall B. Monsen
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Acoustic Characteristics ◽  
Computer Aided ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Hearing Children ◽  
Impaired Children

Monosyllables were recorded from a group of 24 hearing-impaired and 6 normal-hearing children between three to six years of age. Tokens of the syllables /ba/ and /bo/ were placed on listening tapes and a panel of 10 experienced listeners made ratings of relative voice quality. The phonation samples were subjected to both a gross (spectrographic) and a fine (computer-aided) acoustic analysis. The following acoustic characteristics were examined: (1) mean fundamental frequency, (2) duration, (3) mean period-to-period changes in intensity and in fundamental frequency, (4) spectral energy ratio above and below 1000 Hz, and (5) intonation contour. The type of intonation contour appeared to be the most important characteristic separating the better from the poorer deaf speakers. The hearing-impaired subjects produced four different types of deviant intonation contours. In addition, two abnormalities of phonation, diplophonia and breathiness, are described.

Intelligibility of Modified Speech for Young Listeners With Normal and Impaired Hearing

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 1027-1038 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosalie M. Uchanski ◽  
Ann E. Geers ◽  
Athanassios Protopapas
Keyword(s):  
Speech Processing ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Processing Conditions ◽  
Impaired Hearing ◽  
Slowing Down ◽  
Listening In Noise ◽  
Hearing Children ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Hearing Impaired Children

Exposure to modified speech has been shown to benefit children with languagelearning impairments with respect to their language skills (M. M. Merzenich et al., 1998; P. Tallal et al., 1996). In the study by Tallal and colleagues, the speech modification consisted of both slowing down and amplifying fast, transitional elements of speech. In this study, we examined whether the benefits of modified speech could be extended to provide intelligibility improvements for children with severe-to-profound hearing impairment who wear sensory aids. In addition, the separate effects on intelligibility of slowing down and amplifying speech were evaluated. Two groups of listeners were employed: 8 severe-to-profoundly hearingimpaired children and 5 children with normal hearing. Four speech-processing conditions were tested: (1) natural, unprocessed speech; (2) envelope-amplified speech; (3) slowed speech; and (4) both slowed and envelope-amplified speech. For each condition, three types of speech materials were used: words in sentences, isolated words, and syllable contrasts. To degrade the performance of the normal-hearing children, all testing was completed with a noise background. Results from the hearing-impaired children showed that all varieties of modified speech yielded either equivalent or poorer intelligibility than unprocessed speech. For words in sentences and isolated words, the slowing-down of speech had no effect on intelligibility scores whereas envelope amplification, both alone and combined with slowing-down, yielded significantly lower scores. Intelligibility results from normal-hearing children listening in noise were somewhat similar to those from hearing-impaired children. For isolated words, the slowing-down of speech had no effect on intelligibility whereas envelope amplification degraded intelligibility. For both subject groups, speech processing had no statistically significant effect on syllable discrimination. In summary, without extensive exposure to the speech processing conditions, children with impaired hearing and children with normal hearing listening in noise received no intelligibility advantage from either slowed speech or envelope-amplified speech.

scholarly journals Akustičke značajke vokalnoga zamora

2017 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-58
Author(s):  
Gordana Kovačić ◽  
Emica Farago
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Voice Quality ◽  
Harmonic Spectrum ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Spectral Energy ◽  
Energy Bands ◽  
Vocal Fatigue ◽  
Fatigue Syndrome ◽  
Three Samples ◽  
Vocal Professionals

Vocal fatigue is characterized by self-perceived increased laryngeal strain and voice quality changes. The condition can have organic or/and functional causes. Typically, it affects vocal professionals, and teachers are most numerous among them. Despite great number of studies, many questions about vocal fatigue such as its acoustic characterstics are still open. The hypothesis of the present study conducted on female teachers was that there are significant differences in acoustic variables between vocally fatigued teachers (N=23) and teachers without it (N=27). Running speech and prolonged phonation of the vowel /a/ were analyzed in PRAAT software calculating the long-term average speech spectrum LTASS and harmonic spectrum. The average speech F0 and series of spectral variables were calculated: the strength of the strongest spectral peak L0, the α ratio of the level difference above and bellow 1 kHz for the 0-5 kHz range analyzed, and the variables Δ1, Δ2, Δ3 and Δ4 showing the ratios of the respective spectral energy bands of 1-2 kHz, 2-3 kHz, 3-4 kHz and 4-5 kHz relative to the 0-1 kHz reference. The average H1/H2 ratio based on harmonic spectrum of three samples of the prolonged vowel /a/ production was calculated as well. The hypothesis was tested by multivariate and univariate analyzes of variance and discriminant analysis. The results showed that there are no significant differences in the set of acoustic variables between the two teacher groups, thus the hypothesis was rejected. However, the average speech F0 showed to be strong single discriminator. Its mean value in the group of teachers with vocal fatigue, that is 176 Hz, suggests dysfunction. Several factors may explain the absence of acoustic differences between the two groups, one of the most compelling of which is the fact that both groups reported similar numbers of subjective vocal and physical complaints. The results confirm the complex phenomenology of vocal fatigue syndrome, and suggest that acoustic analysis may have limited power to detect it.

scholarly journals A comparison of maternal and child language in normally-hearing and hearing-impaired children with cochlear implants

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liesbeth Vanormelingen ◽  
Sven De Maeyer ◽  
Steven Gillis
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Cochlear Implants ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Input And Output ◽  
Hearing Status ◽  
Hearing Children ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Hearing Impaired Children

The present study examines the amount of input and output in congenitally hearing-impaired children with a cochlear implant (CI) and normally-hearing children (NH) and their normally-hearing mothers. The aim of the study was threefold: (a) to investigate the input provided by the two groups of mothers, (b) to investigate the output of the two groups of children, and (c) to investigate the influence of the mothers’ input on child output and expressive vocabulary size. Mothers are less influenced by their children’s hearing status than the children are: CI children are more talkative and slower speakers. Mothers influenced their children on most parameters, but strikingly, it was not maternal talkativeness as such, but the number of maternal turns that is the best predictor of a child’s expressive vocabulary size.

scholarly journals Language development of a group of hearing impaired children

1970 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alida M.U. Laubscher
Keyword(s):  
Time Lag ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Developmental Trend ◽  
Hearing Level ◽  
Particle Displacement ◽  
Hearing Children ◽  
Verb Inflections ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Hearing Impaired Children

Spoken samples of language from a group of ten hearing impaired children were analysed with respect to development of occurrence of verb tenses and verb inflections, the development of the kernel sentence and four transformations: conjunction, particle displacement, auxiliary "have" and pronoun. The language samples represented an age range of five—three to nine—seven years. The mean hearing level of the ten subjects, in the better ear was 76dB I.S.O. From the results obtained, general conclusions seem to emerge. Firstly, the earliest acquired verb tense is the present, followed by, or appearing concurrently with, the present progressive. Secondly, the kernel sentence is correctly used at an early age by some children. As age increases, so does the percentage of children using the kernel sentence. From approximately seven years of age, more transformations are used. The transformations conjunction and particle displacement indicated a clear developmental trend towards greater complexity. The conjunction and pronoun transformations were used by a greater percentage of children. The transformation auxiliary "have" appeared much later and less frequently. These developmental trends show strong similarities to the trends observed in normal hearing children by other investigators. There is, however, a time lag in that the hearing impaired children develop these features at a later age and over a longer period of time.

scholarly journals Communicative indicators, motor and cognitive development of hearing-impaired children

2016 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 54
Author(s):  
Érica Endo Amemiya ◽  
Alexandra Dezani Soares ◽  
Brasilia Maria Chiari
Keyword(s):  
Child Development ◽  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Typical Development ◽  
Impaired Child ◽  
Hearing Children ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Two Age Groups ◽  
Hearing Impaired Children

Introduction: For the assessment of child development in the deaf is effective protocols are needed for this population, as in Brazil, standardized tests for these children are still scarce 4.5. Thus, emphasis is placed on studying child development in deaf so that therapeutic and educational approaches are contemplated in accordance with the needs of each child. Objective:  Analyze the performance of children with hearing defi cit in different areas: Communications-Issue, Communication-reception, aspects Motors and Cognitive Aspects of Language. Methods: We have carried out a comparative study in an institutional clinic with 109 children, divided into 60 hearing individuals with typical development and 49 with hearing loss, severe to profound. The performance index was calculated for each child in these four domains. The index was analysed according to the equation: (number of responses in each area / number of assessed behaviours) x100. Results: In all age groups, hearing-impaired children had a smaller performance when compared to hearing children in the Communication – Emission domain. The Communication-Reception domain showed signifi cant differences (p < 0.05) from the 12-to-23-months to the 60-to-71-months age groups. The Cognitive Aspects domain demonstrated a signifi cant difference (p < 0.01) between hearing-impaired and hearing children aged 24 to 35 months and onwards. Motor Aspects only had a signifi cant difference (p < 0.01) in the last two age groups, 48-59 months and 60-71 months. The signifi cance level was 5%. Conclusion:  In all age groups, hearing-impaired children’s performance was worse when compared to hearing children. The intervention made by health professionals ought to take place as soon as possible in order to develop the cognitive, motor and language skills of the hearing-impaired child.

Performance of Young Hearing-Impaired Children on a Test of Basic Concepts

1974 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 342-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Davis
Keyword(s):  
Hard Of Hearing ◽  
Item Analysis ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Time Concepts ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
Hearing Children ◽  
Space Concepts ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Hearing Impaired Children

The Boehm Test of Basic Concepts was administered to 24 hard-of-hearing children and 24 normally hearing children, who ranged in age from six to eight years. The hearing-impaired children were enrolled at least part time in regular public school classrooms. Their responses were analyzed according to age level and degree of hearing loss and compared to norms for normal-hearing children. Results indicate significant differences in knowledge of the concepts tested between children with milder losses and those with moderately severe losses, but no significant differences between younger and older hearing-impaired children. Percentile rankings of raw scores revealed that 75% of the hard-of-hearing children scored at or below the 10th percentile when compared to norms for hearing children their age or younger. Item analysis of the responses indicated poorest performance on time concepts, followed by quantity, miscellaneous, and space concepts, in that order.

Hearing-Impaired Children’s Comprehension and Production of Syntax in Oral Language

1973 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucille McKinney Pressnell
Keyword(s):  
Oral Language ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Normal Children ◽  
Auditory Cues ◽  
Verb Constructions ◽  
Oral Language Skills ◽  
Hearing Children ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Hearing Impaired Children

The acquisition and development of syntax in oral language for 47 congenitally hearing-impaired children between the ages of five years and 13 years, three months, was compared with that of normal children. The Northwestern Syntax Screening Test was administered and a 50-sentence spontaneous-language sample was scored and analyzed. In addition to the significant differences found in the rate of acquisition of syntax in favor of the normal children, some differences were found in the sequential order of development for particular verb constructions. The investigator hypothesized that such differences were related to the teaching order in the classroom and to the degree of visual-auditory cues inherent in the language constructions for the hearing-impaired children. Information from the case histories was used in an attempt to identify the factors contributing to the development of syntax for the hearing-impaired subjects. Of the six factors considered, only chronologic age and severity of hearing impairment were identified as contributing factors for these subjects. However, those hearing-impaired children who have achieved good oral language skills would be attending schools with hearing children and, therefore, were not represented in this study.

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