How Do Age and Hearing Loss Impact Spectral Envelope Perception?

Purpose

The goal was to evaluate the potential effects of increasing hearing loss and advancing age on spectral envelope perception.

Method

Spectral modulation detection was measured as a function of spectral modulation frequency from 0.5 to 8.0 cycles/octave. The spectral modulation task involved discrimination of a noise carrier (3 octaves wide from 400 to 3200 Hz) with a flat spectral envelope from a noise having a sinusoidal spectral envelope across a logarithmic audio frequency scale. Spectral modulation transfer functions (SMTFs; modulation threshold vs. modulation frequency) were computed and compared 4 listener groups: young normal hearing, older normal hearing, older with mild hearing loss, and older with moderate hearing loss. Estimates of the internal spectral contrast were obtained by computing excitation patterns.

Results

SMTFs for young listeners with normal hearing were bandpass with a minimum modulation detection threshold at 2 cycles/octave, and older listeners with normal hearing were remarkably similar to those of the young listeners. SMTFs for older listeners with mild and moderate hearing loss had a low-pass rather than a bandpass shape. Excitation patterns revealed that limited spectral resolution dictated modulation detection thresholds at high but not low spectral modulation frequencies. Even when factoring out (presumed) differences in frequency resolution among groups, the spectral envelope perception was worse for the group with moderate hearing loss than the other 3 groups.

Conclusions

The spectral envelope perception as measured by spectral modulation detection thresholds is compromised by hearing loss at higher spectral modulation frequencies, consistent with predictions of reduced spectral resolution known to accompany sensorineural hearing loss. Spectral envelope perception is not negatively impacted by advancing age at any spectral modulation frequency between 0.5 and 8.0 cycles/octave.

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Pairing New Words With Unfamiliar Objects: Comparing Children With and Without Cochlear Implants

Purpose

This study investigates differences between preschool children with cochlear implants and age-matched children with normal hearing during an initial stage in word learning to evaluate whether they (a) match novel words to unfamiliar objects and (b) solicit information about unfamiliar objects during play.

Method

Twelve preschool children with cochlear implants and 12 children with normal hearing matched for age completed 2 experimental tasks. In the 1st task, children were asked to point to a picture that matched either a known word or a novel word. In the 2nd task, children were presented with unfamiliar objects during play and were given the opportunity to ask questions about those objects.

Results

In Task 1, children with cochlear implants paired novel words with unfamiliar pictures in fewer trials than children with normal hearing. In Task 2, children with cochlear implants were less likely to solicit information about new objects than children with normal hearing. Performance on the 1st task, but not the 2nd, significantly correlated with expressive vocabulary standard scores of children with cochlear implants.

Conclusion

This study provides preliminary evidence that children with cochlear implants approach mapping novel words to and soliciting information about unfamiliar objects differently than children with normal hearing.

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How Do Age and Hearing Loss Impact Spectral Envelope Perception?

Purpose

The goal was to evaluate the potential effects of increasing hearing loss and advancing age on spectral envelope perception.

Method

Spectral modulation detection was measured as a function of spectral modulation frequency from 0.5 to 8.0 cycles/octave. The spectral modulation task involved discrimination of a noise carrier (3 octaves wide from 400 to 3200 Hz) with a flat spectral envelope from a noise having a sinusoidal spectral envelope across a logarithmic audio frequency scale. Spectral modulation transfer functions (SMTFs; modulation threshold vs. modulation frequency) were computed and compared 4 listener groups: young normal hearing, older normal hearing, older with mild hearing loss, and older with moderate hearing loss. Estimates of the internal spectral contrast were obtained by computing excitation patterns.

Results

SMTFs for young listeners with normal hearing were bandpass with a minimum modulation detection threshold at 2 cycles/octave, and older listeners with normal hearing were remarkably similar to those of the young listeners. SMTFs for older listeners with mild and moderate hearing loss had a low-pass rather than a bandpass shape. Excitation patterns revealed that limited spectral resolution dictated modulation detection thresholds at high but not low spectral modulation frequencies. Even when factoring out (presumed) differences in frequency resolution among groups, the spectral envelope perception was worse for the group with moderate hearing loss than the other 3 groups.

Conclusions

The spectral envelope perception as measured by spectral modulation detection thresholds is compromised by hearing loss at higher spectral modulation frequencies, consistent with predictions of reduced spectral resolution known to accompany sensorineural hearing loss. Spectral envelope perception is not negatively impacted by advancing age at any spectral modulation frequency between 0.5 and 8.0 cycles/octave.

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Pairing New Words With Unfamiliar Objects: Comparing Children With and Without Cochlear Implants

Purpose

This study investigates differences between preschool children with cochlear implants and age-matched children with normal hearing during an initial stage in word learning to evaluate whether they (a) match novel words to unfamiliar objects and (b) solicit information about unfamiliar objects during play.

Method

Twelve preschool children with cochlear implants and 12 children with normal hearing matched for age completed 2 experimental tasks. In the 1st task, children were asked to point to a picture that matched either a known word or a novel word. In the 2nd task, children were presented with unfamiliar objects during play and were given the opportunity to ask questions about those objects.

Results

In Task 1, children with cochlear implants paired novel words with unfamiliar pictures in fewer trials than children with normal hearing. In Task 2, children with cochlear implants were less likely to solicit information about new objects than children with normal hearing. Performance on the 1st task, but not the 2nd, significantly correlated with expressive vocabulary standard scores of children with cochlear implants.

Conclusion

This study provides preliminary evidence that children with cochlear implants approach mapping novel words to and soliciting information about unfamiliar objects differently than children with normal hearing.

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Author Response to Peck (2018), “Questionable Use of ‘Nonorganic’ in ‘Estimating Nonorganic Hearing Thresholds’”

Purpose

The purpose of this letter is to respond to Dr. Peck's (2018) letter to the editor regarding the use of the term “nonorganic” to describe hearing loss, demonstrated by the pure tone audiogram that cannot be explained or is greater than what can be explained by a physiological auditory disorder.

Conclusions

We prefer the term “nonorganic” rather than the term “false and exaggerated hearing loss.” “Nonorganic,” in our view, is a nonjudgmental term and, as stated by Austen and Lynch (2004), implies “as little as possible about its cause” (p. 450).

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Questionable Use of “Nonorganic” in Norrix et al. (2017), “Estimating Nonorganic Hearing Thresholds”

Purpose

The author of this letter to the editor expresses concern about the use of the word “nonorganic” as a source of confusion in terminology. Specifically, this is in response to the December 2017 American Journal of Audiology article, “Estimating Nonorganic Hearing Thresholds Using Binaural Auditory Stimuli” (Norrix, Rubiano, & Mueller, 2017). “Nonorganic” is a source of confusion in terminology, because it can be used in two different ways. One way can mean to say there is no hearing loss. When used in this sense, it is illogical because it is qualifying a hearing loss believed not to exist. The second usage means there is a real disorder of function, but the organs themselves are not damaged and the basis is unknown. In the place of “nonorganic,” I have proposed “false hearing loss.” “Nonorganic” might carry a negative connotation that “false” might not. Many instances of false hearing loss stem from physical–mental health disturbances. Audiologists must stay alert to signs of psychosocial difficulty and refer for further evaluation accordingly.

Conclusion

“False” hearing loss is a more appropriate term than “nonorganic” hearing loss.

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Author Response to Peck (2018), “Questionable Use of ‘Nonorganic’ in ‘Estimating Nonorganic Hearing Thresholds’”

Purpose

The purpose of this letter is to respond to Dr. Peck's (2018) letter to the editor regarding the use of the term “nonorganic” to describe hearing loss, demonstrated by the pure tone audiogram that cannot be explained or is greater than what can be explained by a physiological auditory disorder.

Conclusions

We prefer the term “nonorganic” rather than the term “false and exaggerated hearing loss.” “Nonorganic,” in our view, is a nonjudgmental term and, as stated by Austen and Lynch (2004), implies “as little as possible about its cause” (p. 450).

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Questionable Use of “Nonorganic” in Norrix et al. (2017), “Estimating Nonorganic Hearing Thresholds”

Purpose

The author of this letter to the editor expresses concern about the use of the word “nonorganic” as a source of confusion in terminology. Specifically, this is in response to the December 2017 American Journal of Audiology article, “Estimating Nonorganic Hearing Thresholds Using Binaural Auditory Stimuli” (Norrix, Rubiano, & Mueller, 2017). “Nonorganic” is a source of confusion in terminology, because it can be used in two different ways. One way can mean to say there is no hearing loss. When used in this sense, it is illogical because it is qualifying a hearing loss believed not to exist. The second usage means there is a real disorder of function, but the organs themselves are not damaged and the basis is unknown. In the place of “nonorganic,” I have proposed “false hearing loss.” “Nonorganic” might carry a negative connotation that “false” might not. Many instances of false hearing loss stem from physical–mental health disturbances. Audiologists must stay alert to signs of psychosocial difficulty and refer for further evaluation accordingly.

Conclusion

“False” hearing loss is a more appropriate term than “nonorganic” hearing loss.

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Brain-like Emergent Auditory Learning: A Developmental Method

Publication date: Available online 31 August 2018

Source: Hearing Research

Author(s): Dongshu Wang, Hui Shan, Jianbin Xin

Abstract

Compared with machine audition, the human auditory system can recognize speech accurately and quickly. This paper proposes a new developmental network (DN) that simulates the human auditory system and constructs an artificial auditory model for speech recognition. The new model simulates each key element of the human auditory pathway as a deep network; in particular, an additional layer in the network is considered to simulate the function of the superior colliculus in the thalamus for speech context integration. The mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC) is used to extract the features of the speech signal as the sensory input of the DN. The emergent feature of DN model provides an explanation of how such internal neurons represent the short speech context when they are not supervised by the external world. The experimental results show that the recognition rates of English words and phrases can be improved significantly compared to those reported in the existing literature. The proposed DN model provides a new method to solve difficult problems, such as universal speech recognition, in traditional machine audition systems. Meanwhile, the same learning principle can potentially be used in or adapted to other computational contexts and applications.

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Brain-like Emergent Auditory Learning: A Developmental Method

Publication date: Available online 31 August 2018

Source: Hearing Research

Author(s): Dongshu Wang, Hui Shan, Jianbin Xin

Abstract

Compared with machine audition, the human auditory system can recognize speech accurately and quickly. This paper proposes a new developmental network (DN) that simulates the human auditory system and constructs an artificial auditory model for speech recognition. The new model simulates each key element of the human auditory pathway as a deep network; in particular, an additional layer in the network is considered to simulate the function of the superior colliculus in the thalamus for speech context integration. The mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC) is used to extract the features of the speech signal as the sensory input of the DN. The emergent feature of DN model provides an explanation of how such internal neurons represent the short speech context when they are not supervised by the external world. The experimental results show that the recognition rates of English words and phrases can be improved significantly compared to those reported in the existing literature. The proposed DN model provides a new method to solve difficult problems, such as universal speech recognition, in traditional machine audition systems. Meanwhile, the same learning principle can potentially be used in or adapted to other computational contexts and applications.

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Unusual discovery of a vestibular schwannoma following eradication therapy for Mycobacterium abscessus.

Related Articles

Unusual discovery of a vestibular schwannoma following eradication therapy for Mycobacterium abscessus.

BMJ Case Rep. 2018 Aug 29;2018:

Authors: Wilson C, Duckers J, Rajenderkumar D

Abstract
A young man with cystic fibrosis in his early 30s presented to accident and emergency with acute onset unilateral lower motor neuron facial palsy, hearing loss and impaired balance following Mycobacterium abscessus eradication induction therapy. The hearing loss and impaired balance developed over a 3-day period prior to the onset of facial palsy. Further investigation with a CT scan and MRI scan led to a diagnosis of vestibular schwannoma. The facial palsy resolved with steroid treatment; however, the hearing loss is irreversible, which has had a profound impact on his life and career. This case is intriguing as the cause and association of events are unclear. A working diagnosis of incidental Bell's palsy and unilateral hearing loss caused by the vestibular schwannoma was applied. However, the onset of these symptoms in relation to M. abscessus eradication induction therapy promotes discussion.

PMID: 30158267 [PubMed - in process]

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Unusual discovery of a vestibular schwannoma following eradication therapy for Mycobacterium abscessus.

Related Articles

Unusual discovery of a vestibular schwannoma following eradication therapy for Mycobacterium abscessus.

BMJ Case Rep. 2018 Aug 29;2018:

Authors: Wilson C, Duckers J, Rajenderkumar D

Abstract
A young man with cystic fibrosis in his early 30s presented to accident and emergency with acute onset unilateral lower motor neuron facial palsy, hearing loss and impaired balance following Mycobacterium abscessus eradication induction therapy. The hearing loss and impaired balance developed over a 3-day period prior to the onset of facial palsy. Further investigation with a CT scan and MRI scan led to a diagnosis of vestibular schwannoma. The facial palsy resolved with steroid treatment; however, the hearing loss is irreversible, which has had a profound impact on his life and career. This case is intriguing as the cause and association of events are unclear. A working diagnosis of incidental Bell's palsy and unilateral hearing loss caused by the vestibular schwannoma was applied. However, the onset of these symptoms in relation to M. abscessus eradication induction therapy promotes discussion.

PMID: 30158267 [PubMed - in process]

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