A Deep Denoising Autoencoder Approach to Improving the Intelligibility of Vocoded Speech in Cochlear Implant Simulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (7) ◽  
pp. 1568-1578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying-Hui Lai ◽  
Fei Chen ◽  
Syu-Siang Wang ◽  
Xugang Lu ◽  
Yu Tsao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Denoising Autoencoder ◽  
Vocoded Speech

Perceptual Learning of Vocoded Speech With and Without Contralateral Hearing: Implications for Cochlear Implant Rehabilitation

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Martin Chavant ◽  
Alexis Hervais-Adelman ◽  
Olivier Macherey
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Perceptual Learning ◽  
Speech Signal ◽  
Training Phase ◽  
Monosyllabic Words ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Contralateral Ear ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Vocoded Speech

Purpose An increasing number of individuals with residual or even normal contralateral hearing are being considered for cochlear implantation. It remains unknown whether the presence of contralateral hearing is beneficial or detrimental to their perceptual learning of cochlear implant (CI)–processed speech. The aim of this experiment was to provide a first insight into this question using acoustic simulations of CI processing. Method Sixty normal-hearing listeners took part in an auditory perceptual learning experiment. Each subject was randomly assigned to one of three groups of 20 referred to as NORMAL, LOWPASS, and NOTHING. The experiment consisted of two test phases separated by a training phase. In the test phases, all subjects were tested on recognition of monosyllabic words passed through a six-channel “PSHC” vocoder presented to a single ear. In the training phase, which consisted of listening to a 25-min audio book, all subjects were also presented with the same vocoded speech in one ear but the signal they received in their other ear differed across groups. The NORMAL group was presented with the unprocessed speech signal, the LOWPASS group with a low-pass filtered version of the speech signal, and the NOTHING group with no sound at all. Results The improvement in speech scores following training was significantly smaller for the NORMAL than for the LOWPASS and NOTHING groups. Conclusions This study suggests that the presentation of normal speech in the contralateral ear reduces or slows down perceptual learning of vocoded speech but that an unintelligible low-pass filtered contralateral signal does not have this effect. Potential implications for the rehabilitation of CI patients with partial or full contralateral hearing are discussed.

scholarly journals Speech intelligibility enhancement for Thai-speaking cochlear implant listeners

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 866
Author(s):  
Siriporn Dachasilaruk ◽  
Niphat Jantharamin ◽  
Apichai Rungruang
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Speech Enhancement ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
English Language ◽  
Single Channel ◽  
Spectral Subtraction ◽  
Monosyllabic Words ◽  
Listening Environments ◽  
Babble Noise ◽  
Vocoded Speech

Cochlear implant (CI) listeners encounter difficulties in communicating with other persons in noisy listening environments. However, most CI research has been carried out using the English language. In this study, single-channel speech enhancement (SE) strategies as a pre-processing approach for the CI system were investigated in terms of Thai speech intelligibility improvement. Two SE algorithms, namely multi-band spectral subtraction (MBSS) and Weiner filter (WF) algorithms, were evaluated. Speech signals consisting of monosyllabic and bisyllabic Thai words were degraded by speech-shaped noise and babble noise at SNR levels of 0, 5, and 10 dB. Then the noisy words were enhanced using SE algorithms. The enhanced words were fed into the CI system to synthesize vocoded speech. The vocoded speech was presented to twenty normal-hearing listeners. The results indicated that speech intelligibility was marginally improved by the MBSS algorithm and significantly improved by the WF algorithm in some conditions. The enhanced bisyllabic words showed a noticeably higher intelligibility improvement than the enhanced monosyllabic words in all conditions, particularly in speech-shaped noise. Such outcomes may be beneficial to Thai-speaking CI listeners.

Recognition of vocal emotion in noise-vocoded speech by normal hearing and cochlear implant listeners

2016 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 3271-3271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi Zhu ◽  
Ryota Miyauchi ◽  
Yukiko Araki ◽  
Masashi Unoki
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Vocal Emotion ◽  
Vocoded Speech

Lateralized Cerebral Processing of Abstract Linguistic Structure in Clear and Degraded Speech

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 591-602
Author(s):  
Qingqing Meng ◽  
Yiwen Li Hegner ◽  
Iain Giblin ◽  
Catherine McMahon ◽  
Blake W Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Single Experiment ◽  
Linguistic Information ◽  
Degraded Speech ◽  
Potential Clinical Utility ◽  
Cortical Entrainment ◽  
Cerebral Processing ◽  
Linguistic Units ◽  
Vocoded Speech

Abstract Human cortical activity measured with magnetoencephalography (MEG) has been shown to track the temporal regularity of linguistic information in connected speech. In the current study, we investigate the underlying neural sources of these responses and test the hypothesis that they can be directly modulated by changes in speech intelligibility. MEG responses were measured to natural and spectrally degraded (noise-vocoded) speech in 19 normal hearing participants. Results showed that cortical coherence to “abstract” linguistic units with no accompanying acoustic cues (phrases and sentences) were lateralized to the left hemisphere and changed parametrically with intelligibility of speech. In contrast, responses coherent to words/syllables accompanied by acoustic onsets were bilateral and insensitive to intelligibility changes. This dissociation suggests that cerebral responses to linguistic information are directly affected by intelligibility but also powerfully shaped by physical cues in speech. This explains why previous studies have reported widely inconsistent effects of speech intelligibility on cortical entrainment and, within a single experiment, provided clear support for conclusions about language lateralization derived from a large number of separately conducted neuroimaging studies. Since noise-vocoded speech resembles the signals provided by a cochlear implant device, the current methodology has potential clinical utility for assessment of cochlear implant performance.

Letter to the Editor Concerning Skuk et al., “Parameter-Specific Morphing Reveals Contributions of Timbre and Fundamental Frequency Cues to the Perception of Voice Gender and Age in Cochlear Implant Users”

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (12) ◽  
pp. 4325-4326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hartmut Meister ◽  
Katrin Fuersen ◽  
Barbara Streicher ◽  
Ruth Lang-Roth ◽  
Martin Walger
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Stimulus Type ◽  
Voice Perception ◽  
Letter To The Editor ◽  
Gender And Age ◽  
General Influence

Purpose The purpose of this letter is to compare results by Skuk et al. (2020) with Meister et al. (2016) and to point to a potential general influence of stimulus type. Conclusion Our conclusion is that presenting sentences may give cochlear implant recipients the opportunity to use timbre cues for voice perception. This might not be the case when presenting brief and sparse stimuli such as consonant–vowel–consonant or single words, which were applied in the majority of studies.

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