Ideal binary masking based noise reduction and interleaved processing for bilateral cochlear implant users

2016 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 3441-3441
Author(s):  
Shaikat Hossain ◽  
Vahid Montazeri ◽  
Peter F. Assmann
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Noise Reduction ◽  
Bilateral Cochlear Implant ◽  
Binary Masking ◽  
Ideal Binary Masking

Improved Environment-Aware–Based Noise Reduction System for Cochlear Implant Users Based on Knowledge Transfer Approach (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lieber Po-Hung Li ◽  
Ji-Yan Han ◽  
Wei-Zhong Zheng ◽  
Ren-Jie Huang ◽  
Ying-Hui Lai
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Transfer ◽  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Noise Reduction ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Middle Layer ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Perceptual Evaluation ◽  
Reduction System ◽  
Listening Tests ◽  
Implementation Costs

BACKGROUND The cochlear implant technology is a well-known approach to help deaf patients hear speech again. It can improve speech intelligibility in quiet conditions; however, it still has room for improvement in noisy conditions. More recently, it has been proven that deep learning–based noise reduction (NR), such as noise classification and deep denoising autoencoder (NC+DDAE), can benefit the intelligibility performance of patients with cochlear implants compared to classical noise reduction algorithms. OBJECTIVE Following the successful implementation of the NC+DDAE model in our previous study, this study aimed to (1) propose an advanced noise reduction system using knowledge transfer technology, called NC+DDAE_T, (2) examine the proposed NC+DDAE_T noise reduction system using objective evaluations and subjective listening tests, and (3) investigate which layer substitution of the knowledge transfer technology in the NC+DDAE_T noise reduction system provides the best outcome. METHODS The knowledge transfer technology was adopted to reduce the number of parameters of the NC+DDAE_T compared with the NC+DDAE. We investigated which layer should be substituted using short-time objective intelligibility (STOI) and perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ) scores, as well as t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding to visualize the features in each model layer. Moreover, we enrolled ten cochlear implant users for listening tests to evaluate the benefits of the newly developed NC+DDAE_T. RESULTS The experimental results showed that substituting the middle layer (ie, the second layer in this study) of the noise-independent DDAE (NI-DDAE) model achieved the best performance gain regarding STOI and PESQ scores. Therefore, the parameters of layer three in the NI-DDAE were chosen to be replaced, thereby establishing the NC+DDAE_T. Both objective and listening test results showed that the proposed NC+DDAE_T noise reduction system achieved similar performances compared with the previous NC+DDAE in several noisy test conditions. However, the proposed NC+DDAE_T only needs a quarter of the number of parameters compared to the NC+DDAE. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrated that knowledge transfer technology can help to reduce the number of parameters in an NC+DDAE while keeping similar performance rates. This suggests that the proposed NC+DDAE_T model may reduce the implementation costs of this noise reduction system and provide more benefits for cochlear implant users.

scholarly journals Improving Localization and Speech Reception in Noise for Bilateral Cochlear Implant Recipients

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 233121651983149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy B. Potts ◽  
Lakshmish Ramanna ◽  
Trevor Perry ◽  
Christopher J. Long
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Automatic Gain Control ◽  
Gain Control ◽  
Interaural Level Difference ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Localization Accuracy ◽  
Speech In Noise ◽  
Speech Reception ◽  
Bilateral Cochlear Implant ◽  
Comparative Survey

This study looked at different methods to preserve interaural level difference (ILD) cues for bilateral cochlear implant (BiCI) recipients. One possible distortion to ILD is from automatic gain control (AGC). Localization accuracy of BiCI recipients using default versus increased AGC threshold and linked AGCs versus independent AGCs was examined. In addition, speech reception in noise was assessed using linked versus independent AGCs and enabling and disabling Autosensitivity™ Control. Subjective information via a diary and questionnaire was also collected about maps with linked and independent AGCs during a take-home experience. Localization accuracy improved in the increased AGC threshold and the linked AGCs conditions. Increasing the AGC threshold resulted in a 4° improvement in root mean square error averaged across all speaker locations. Using linked AGCs, BiCI participants experienced an 8° improvement for all speaker locations and a 19° improvement at the speaker location most affected by the AGC. Speech reception threshold in noise improved by an average of 2.5 dB when using linked AGCs versus independent AGCs. In addition, the effect of linked AGCs on speech in noise was compared with that of Autosensitivity™ Control. The Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale-12 question comparative survey showed an improvement when using maps with linked AGCs. These findings support the hypothesis that ILD cues may be preserved by increasing the AGC threshold or linking AGCs.

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