scholarly journals Availability of Binaural Cues for Pediatric Bilateral Cochlear Implant Recipients

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (03) ◽  
pp. 289-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sterling W. Sheffield ◽  
David S. Haynes ◽  
George B. Wanna ◽  
Robert F. Labadie ◽  
René H. Gifford
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Binaural Hearing ◽  
Ratio Test ◽  
Binaural Cues ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
Open Set ◽  
Test Conditions ◽  
Spatial Release ◽  
Listening Environments ◽  
Release From Masking

Background: Bilateral implant recipients theoretically have access to binaural cues. Research in postlingually deafened adults with cochlear implants (CIs) indicates minimal evidence for true binaural hearing. Congenitally deafened children who experience spatial hearing with bilateral CIs, however, might perceive binaural cues in the CI signal differently. There is limited research examining binaural hearing in children with CIs, and the few published studies are limited by the use of unrealistic speech stimuli and background noise. Purpose: The purposes of this study were to (1) replicate our previous study of binaural hearing in postlingually deafened adults with AzBio sentences in prelingually deafened children with the pediatric version of the AzBio sentences, and (2) replicate previous studies of binaural hearing in children with CIs using more open-set sentences and more realistic background noise (i.e., multitalker babble). Research Design: The study was a within-participant, repeated-measures design. Study Sample: The study sample consisted of 14 children with bilateral CIs with at least 25 mo of listening experience. Data Collection and Analysis: Speech recognition was assessed using sentences presented in multitalker babble at a fixed signal-to-noise ratio. Test conditions included speech at 0° with noise presented at 0° (S 0 N 0 ), on the side of the first CI (90° or 270°) (S 0 N 1stCI ), and on the side of the second CI (S 0 N 2ndCI ) as well as speech presented at 0° with noise presented semidiffusely from eight speakers at 45° intervals. Estimates of summation, head shadow, squelch, and spatial release from masking were calculated. Results: Results of test conditions commonly reported in the literature (S 0 N 0 , S 0 N 1stCI , S 0 N 2ndCI ) are consistent with results from previous research in adults and children with bilateral CIs, showing minimal summation and squelch but typical head shadow and spatial release from masking. However, bilateral benefit over the better CI with speech at 0° was much larger with semidiffuse noise. Conclusions: Congenitally deafened children with CIs have similar availability of binaural hearing cues to postlingually deafened adults with CIs within the same experimental design. It is possible that the use of realistic listening environments, such as semidiffuse background noise as in Experiment II, would reveal greater binaural hearing benefit for bilateral CI recipients. Future research is needed to determine whether (1) availability of binaural cues for children correlates with interaural time and level differences, (2) different listening environments are more sensitive to binaural hearing benefits, and (3) differences exist between pediatric bilateral recipients receiving implants in the same or sequential surgeries.

Binaural Speech Understanding With Bilateral Cochlear Implants in Reverberation

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kostas Kokkinakis
Keyword(s):  
Sound Field ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Spatial Cues ◽  
Bilateral Cochlear Implants ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Spatial Release ◽  
Listening Environments ◽  
Speech Reception Thresholds ◽  
Release From Masking

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate whether bilateral cochlear implant (CI) listeners who are fitted with clinical processors are able to benefit from binaural advantages under reverberant conditions. Another aim of this contribution was to determine whether the magnitude of each binaural advantage observed inside a highly reverberant environment differs significantly from the magnitude measured in a near-anechoic environment.MethodTen adults with postlingual deafness who are bilateral CI users fitted with either Nucleus 5 or Nucleus 6 clinical sound processors (Cochlear Corporation) participated in this study. Speech reception thresholds were measured in sound field and 2 different reverberation conditions (0.06 and 0.6 s) as a function of the listening condition (left, right, both) and the noise spatial location (left, front, right).ResultsThe presence of the binaural effects of head-shadow, squelch, summation, and spatial release from masking in the 2 different reverberation conditions tested was determined using nonparametric statistical analysis. In the bilateral population tested, when the ambient reverberation time was equal to 0.6 s, results indicated strong positive effects of head-shadow and a weaker spatial release from masking advantage, whereas binaural squelch and summation contributed no statistically significant benefit to bilateral performance under this acoustic condition. These findings are consistent with those of previous studies, which have demonstrated that head-shadow yields the most pronounced advantage in noise. The finding that spatial release from masking produced little to almost no benefit in bilateral listeners is consistent with the hypothesis that additive reverberation degrades spatial cues and negatively affects binaural performance.ConclusionsThe magnitude of 4 different binaural advantages was measured on the same group of bilateral CI subjects fitted with clinical processors in 2 different reverberation conditions. The results of this work demonstrate the impeding properties of reverberation on binaural speech understanding. In addition, results indicate that CI recipients who struggle in everyday listening environments are also more likely to benefit less in highly reverberant environments from their bilateral processors.

scholarly journals The Contribution of Individual Differences in Memory Span and Language Ability to Spatial Release From Masking in Young Children

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 3741-3751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas MacCutcheon ◽  
Florian Pausch ◽  
Christian Füllgrabe ◽  
Renata Eccles ◽  
Jeannie van der Linde ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Memory Span ◽  
Language Ability ◽  
Stream Segregation ◽  
Spatial Cues ◽  
Speech Reception ◽  
Spatial Release ◽  
Speech Reception Thresholds ◽  
Release From Masking

Purpose Working memory capacity and language ability modulate speech reception; however, the respective roles of peripheral and cognitive processing are unclear. The contribution of individual differences in these abilities to utilization of spatial cues when separating speech from informational and energetic masking backgrounds in children has not yet been determined. Therefore, this study explored whether speech reception in children is modulated by environmental factors, such as the type of background noise and spatial configuration of target and noise sources, and individual differences in the cognitive and linguistic abilities of listeners. Method Speech reception thresholds were assessed in 39 children aged 5–7 years in simulated school listening environments. Speech reception thresholds of target sentences spoken by an adult male consisting of number and color combinations were measured using an adaptive procedure, with speech-shaped white noise and single-talker backgrounds that were either collocated (target and back-ground at 0°) or spatially separated (target at 0°, background noise at 90° to the right). Spatial release from masking was assessed alongside memory span and expressive language. Results and Conclusion Significant main effect results showed that speech reception thresholds were highest for informational maskers and collocated conditions. Significant interactions indicated that individual differences in memory span and language ability were related to spatial release from masking advantages. Specifically, individual differences in memory span and language were related to the utilization of spatial cues in separated conditions. Language differences were related to auditory stream segregation abilities in collocated conditions that lack helpful spatial cues, pointing to the utilization of language processes to make up for losses in spatial information.

Effect of degraded binaural cues in cochlear implant users and normal hearing listeners on spatial release from masking

2012 ◽  
Vol 131 (4) ◽  
pp. 3340-3340
Author(s):  
Ruth Litovsky ◽  
Matthew Goupell ◽  
Alan Kan ◽  
Sara Misurelli ◽  
Corey Stoelb
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Binaural Cues ◽  
Spatial Release ◽  
Release From Masking

scholarly journals The impact of cochlear implant microphone settings on the binaural hearing of experienced cochlear implant users with single-sided deafness

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Kurz ◽  
Maren Zanzinger ◽  
Rudolf Hagen ◽  
Kristen Rak
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Binaural Hearing ◽  
Sound Quality ◽  
Noise Sources ◽  
Shadow Effect ◽  
Spatial Release ◽  
Release From Masking ◽  
Single Sided Deafness ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objective Cochlear implantation has become a well-accepted treatment option for people with single-sided deafness (SSD) and has become a clinical standard in many countries. A cochlear implant (CI) is the only device which restores binaural hearing. The effect of microphone directionality (MD) settings has been investigated in other CI indication groups, but its impact on speech perception in noise has not been established in CI users with SSD. The focus of this investigation was, therefore, to assess binaural hearing effects using different MD settings in CI users with SSD. Methods Twenty-nine experienced CI users with SSD were recruited to determine speech reception thresholds with varying target and noise sources to define binaural effects (head shadow, squelch, summation, and spatial release from masking), sound localization, and sound quality using the SSQ12 and HISQUI19 questionnaires. Outcome measures included the MD settings “natural”, “adaptive”, and “omnidirectional”. Results The 29 participants involved in the study were divided into two groups: 11 SONNET users and 18 OPUS 2/RONDO users. In both groups, a significant head shadow effect of 7.4–9.2 dB was achieved with the CI. The MD setting “adaptive” provided a significant head shadow effect of 9.2 dB, a squelch effect of 0.9 dB, and spatial release from masking of 7.6 dB in the SONNET group. No significant summation effect could be determined in either group with CI. Outcomes with the omnidirectional setting were not significantly different between groups. For both groups, localization improved significantly when the CI was activated and was best when the omnidirectional setting was used. The groups’ sound quality scores did not significantly differ. Conclusions Adaptive directional microphone settings improve speech perception and binaural hearing abilities in CI users with SSD. Binaural effect measures are valuable to quantify the benefit of CI use, especially in this indication group.

Human Frequency Following Response Correlates of Spatial Release From Masking

2019 ◽  
Vol 62 (11) ◽  
pp. 4165-4178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nematollah Rouhbakhsh ◽  
John Mahdi ◽  
Jacob Hwo ◽  
Baran Nobel ◽  
Fati Mousave
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Spatial Separation ◽  
Auditory Pathways ◽  
Frequency Following Response ◽  
Spatial Release ◽  
Listening Environments ◽  
Release From Masking ◽  
Central Auditory Pathways

Purpose Speech recognition in complex listening environments is enhanced by the extent of spatial separation between the speech source and background competing sources, an effect known as spatial release from masking (SRM). The aim of this study was to investigate whether the phase-locked neural activity in the central auditory pathways, reflected in the frequency following response (FFR), exhibits SRM. Method Eighteen normal-hearing adults (8 men and 10 women, ranging in age from 20 to 42 years) with no known neurological disorders participated in this study. FFRs were recorded from the participants in response to a target vowel /u/ presented with spatially colocated and separated competing talkers at 3 ranges of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), with median SNRs of −5.4, 0.5, and 6.8 dB and for different attentional conditions (attention and no attention). Results Amplitude of the FFR at the fundamental frequency was significantly larger in the spatially separated condition as compared to the colocated condition for only the lowest (< −2.4 dB SNR) of the 3 SNR ranges tested. A significant effect of attention was found when subjects were actively focusing on the target stimuli. No significant interaction effects were found between spatial separation and attention. Conclusions The enhanced representation of the target stimulus in the separated condition suggests that the temporal pattern of phase-locked brainstem neural activity generating the FFR may contain information relevant to the binaural processes underlying SRM but only in challenging listening environments. Attention may modulate FFR fundamental frequency amplitude but does not seem to modulate spatial processing at the level of generating the FFR. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9992597

scholarly journals The speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing scale for children- validity of children’s responses to a Persian translation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samira Dowlatabadi ◽  
Mansoureh Adel Ghahraman ◽  
Saeid Farahani ◽  
Karyn Galvin ◽  
Shohreh Jalaie
Keyword(s):  
Age Groups ◽  
Spatial Hearing ◽  
Binaural Hearing ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Spatial Release ◽  
High Prevalence ◽  
Release From Masking ◽  
Hearing Children ◽  
Persian Translation ◽  
Assessment Questionnaire

Background and Aim: Spatial hearing plays an important role in listening in complex hearing situations, including contributing to localization, lateralization, spatial release from masking, dis­tance estimation from a sound source, and per­ceiving a signal in noise. Questionnaires are use­ful tools for assessing spatial processing disorder in adults. Given the high prevalence of this disorder in children and that the extent of chil­dren’s ability in completing questionnaires is not clear, this study aimed to evaluate the response validity of children to the Persian translation of the child version of the Speech, Spatial and Quality of Hearing Scale (PSSQ-Ch). Methods: The child version of the SSQ was translated into Persian and cross-culturally adap­ted. The final version was administered to 150 children (6 to 12 years of age) with normal hearing. The children’s response validity was evaluated qualitatively and the percentage of valid responses calculated for each of 7 age groups. Results: Across the three sections, the percen­tage of valid responses for children under age 10 was minimum 44.4% and maximum 83.3%, and the mode was around 60%. There was no child in the under-10 age group who answered all ques­tions validly. The response validity of children aged 10 or more was higher with a minimum of 93.3%, a maximum of 100% and mode of 100%. Conclusion: Children ≥ 10 years can reliably respond to the PSSQ-Ch. The response validity of children below 10 years is low; therefore, this questionnaire cannot be used as a self-assessment questionnaire in children below age 10. Keywords: Spatial hearing; binaural hearing; children; validation; self-assessment questionnaire

A Clinical Perspective on Cochlear Dead Regions: Intelligibility of Speech and Subjective Hearing Aid Benefit

2005 ◽  
Vol 16 (08) ◽  
pp. 600-613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill E. Preminger ◽  
Ryan Carpenter ◽  
Craig H. Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Pure Tone ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Clinical Population ◽  
Clinical Perspective ◽  
Listening Environments ◽  
Noise Test ◽  
Cochlear Dead Regions ◽  
Hearing Aid Benefit

Using the threshold equalizing noise (TEN) test, 49 subjects with at least two pure-tone thresholds per ear greater than 50 dB HL and none greater than 80 dB HL were evaluated for the presence or absence of dead regions. The purpose of this study was to (1) assess the prevalence of cochlear dead regions in this clinical population, (2) measure whether listeners with dead regions performed differently than listeners without dead regions on a speech intelligibility in noise test, and (3) determine whether cochlear dead regions are associated with reduced subjective hearing aid performance. The results showed that (1) twenty-nine percent of the subjects tested positive for dead regions, (2) listeners with dead regions had poorer sentence understanding in noise than listeners without dead regions and (3) listeners with dead regions perceived poorer subjective hearing aid performance in listening environments with reverberation or background noise as compared to those without dead regions.

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