Speech and Hearing Science Commons^™

A Neurophysiological Investigation Of Listening Effort In Normal Hearing Adults Using Fnirs And Pupillometry, Jessica Defenderfer

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Real-world conversations are often accompanied by some sort of interference that challenges the clarity of the speaker’s message, causing listeners to exert more effort to understand speech. Previous research has demonstrated that when listening to speech becomes difficult, various regions of the brain are recruited beyond those which engage during optimal listening conditions. However, the neural correlates that underly listening effort are not fully understood. Importantly, the pupillary response can be used to index listening effort, such that pupil size increases with increasing cognitive demand. I proposed that pupillometry can be used to characterize the cortical response, such that changes …

Development And Implementation Of Computer-Based Learning Modules On Alternative Communication For Pediatric Nurses And Nursing Students, Amanda Kaye Simmons

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Purpose and Rationale. To develop, implement, and assess computer-based learning modules (CBLs) on augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) with pediatric nurses and nursing students for knowledge outcomes, self-efficacy, and perceived relevance and effectiveness. Effective communication ensures all parties can understand and express themselves clearly, through any means necessary, often including AAC tools, supports, and strategies. Communication is essential in healthcare but there is limited research with pediatric nurses. Previous research with a single hospital indicated a need for nurse education on AAC. This research used focus groups and interviews to understand pediatric nurse and nursing student knowledge about AAC. The …

Effect Of Sound Source Location And Spatial Hearing On The Vestibulo-Ocular Reflex (Vor), Mary Easterday

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Accurate measurement of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) is imperative in differential diagnosis of vestibular disorders and balance function. However, the assessment protocol faces a number of limitations, including the need to control for extra- vestibular sensory factors such as hearing. Previous research has shown that the use of an auditory stimulus can have a significant effect on functional measures of balance, and many have contributed effects to be the result of spatial hearing. However, no studies have directly assessed the effect of speaker location on the VOR nor investigated correlations of functional spatial hearing with the VOR. Therefore, the aims …

Audiovisual Integration During Novel Word Learning Among School-Aged Children With Cochlear Implants, Kristen Elizabeth Thompson Thornton

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Objective. It is well established that being able to see someone’s mouth move as they speak boosts speech perception for children with cochlear implants (CIs). Thus, children with CIs are often instructed to orient themselves toward the person they are listening to, to gain access to visual speech cues. Children with CIs who are better “audiovisual integrators,” or those who experience an auditory-visual (AV) enhancement effect (higher performance for AV information than auditory-alone (AO) or visual-alone (VO)), are more likely to have better speech and language outcomes after receiving their CI than children with poorer AV integration skills. While AV …

Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials And Postural Control In Adults With Age-Related Hearing Loss, Steven Michael Doettl

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

It is well-documented that auditory thresholds decrease with age, which can be referred to as Age-related hearing loss (ARHL). ARHL is one of the most common conditions affecting older adults and is associated with several conditions including decreased postural stability and falls. Age-related changes to auditory function have been attributed to, through histopathological study, specific degradation of the sensory, supporting, and afferent structures of the cochlea. Vestibular function, as measured through vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) also show decreases with age. VEMPs are a measurement of evoked potentials generated by auditory stimulation of the utricle and saccule measured through a …

Sensorimotor Modulations By Cognitive Processes During Accurate Speech Discrimination: An Eeg Investigation Of Dorsal Stream Processing, David E. Jenson

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Internal models mediate the transmission of information between anterior and posterior regions of the dorsal stream in support of speech perception, though it remains unclear how this mechanism responds to cognitive processes in service of task demands. The purpose of the current study was to identify the influences of attention and working memory on sensorimotor activity across the dorsal stream during speech discrimination, with set size and signal clarity employed to modulate stimulus predictability and the time course of increased task demands, respectively. Independent Component Analysis of 64–channel EEG data identified bilateral sensorimotor mu and auditory alpha components from a …

The Effect Of Hearing Impairment On Word Processing Of Infant- And Adult-Directed Speech, Velma Sue Robertson

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Objective. Little is known about how children with hearing loss (CHL) process words. The Emergent Coalition Model (ECM) of early word learning proposes that multiple cues (e.g., perceptual, social, linguistic) are used to facilitate word learning. Because hearing loss influences speech perception, different word learning patterns may emerge in CHL relative to children with normal hearing (CNH). One perceptual cue used by young children to access word learning is infant-directed-speech (IDS). Specifically, twenty-one month-olds can learn words in IDS but not in adult directed speech (ADS); however, by 27 months children can learn words in ADS. Currently, it is unknown …

Effects Of Noise On Cognitive Function During Dual Tasks Across Normally Aging Adults, Jennine Harvey

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

This study expands upon methods used to investigate cognition and speech perception which have been limited by lack of (a) pre-screening of cognitive function in participants, (b) reporting visual or auditory accuracy and reaction time measures across experimental conditions that examine reaction times, and (c) comprehensive test battery that includes performance across multiple levels of dual task paradigms (DTPs). This study aims to examine group performance on dual tasks (DT) increasing in cognitive (task difficulty) and perceptual load (noise) with age. Participants were divided into two groups based upon age. Group 1 consisted of 14 listeners (Female=11) who were 40-59 …

Effects Of Aging And Spectral Shaping On The Sub-Cortical (Brainstem) Differentiation Of Contrastive Stop Consonants, Dania A. Rishiq

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Purpose: The objectives of this dissertation are to: (1) evaluate the influence of aging on the sub-cortical (brainstem) differentiation of voiced stop consonants (i.e. /b-d-g/); (2) determine whether potential aging deficits at the brainstem level influence behavioral identification of the /b-d-g/ stimuli, (3) investigate whether spectral shaping diminishes any aging impairments at the brainstem level; and (4) if so, whether minimizing these deficits improves the behavioral identification of the speech stimuli.

Subjects: Behavioral and electrophysiological responses were collected from 11 older adults (> 50 years old) with near-normal to normal hearing and were compared to those of 16 normal-hearing younger …

The Effect Of Timbre And Vibrato On Vocal Pitch Matching Accuracy, Sirisha Duvvuru

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Research has shown that singers are better able to match pitch when the target stimulus has a timbre close to their own voice. This study seeks to answer the following questions: 1. Do classically trained female singers more accurately match pitch when the target stimulus is more similar to their own timbre? 2. Does the ability to match pitch vary with increasing pitch? 3. Does the ability to match pitch differ depending on whether the target stimulus is produced with or without vibrato? 4. Are mezzo sopranos less accurate than sopranos? Stimuli: Source signals were synthesized with a source slope …

Improving Literacy Through Instruction And Community Experiences: : The Effect Of A Summer Program On Literacy Outcomes Of Students From Low Ses Homes, Lisa Delozier Bowers

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Among the academic challenges faced by students from low socio-economic (SES) homes is the loss of academic skills during the summer months. Unfortunately, the public schools are often unable to provide summer learning opportunities because limited space, funding, and teacher availability. Established community organizations frequently provide summer programs, however, there is little research to indicate that they can be used to address summer learning loss.

A summer program was designed to improve oral and written narrative skills for students from low SES homes. This program was based in a local community ministry and was designed to use thematic units that …

Independent Component Analysis Of Event-Related Electroencephalography During Speech And Non-Speech Discrimination: : Implications For The Sensorimotor ∆∞ Rhythm In Speech Processing, Andrew Lee Bowers

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Background: The functional significance of sensorimotor integration in acoustic speech processing is unclear despite more than three decades of neuroimaging research. Constructivist theories have long speculated that listeners make predictions about articulatory goals functioning to weight sensory analysis toward expected acoustic features (e.g. analysis-by-synthesis; internal models). Direct-realist accounts posit that sensorimotor integration is achieved via a direct match between incoming acoustic cues and articulatory gestures. A method capable of favoring one account over the other requires an ongoing, high-temporal resolution measure of sensorimotor cortical activity prior to and following acoustic input. Although scalp-recorded electroencephalography (EEG) provides a measure of cortical …

Effect Of Occlusion, Directionality And Age On Horizontal Localization, Lynzee Nicole Alworth

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Localization acuity of a given listener is dependent upon the ability discriminate between interaural time and level disparities. Interaural time differences are encoded by low frequency information whereas interaural level differences are encoded by high frequency information. Much research has examined effects of hearing aid microphone technologies and occlusion separately and prior studies have not evaluated age as a factor in localization acuity. Open-fit hearing instruments provide new earmold technologies and varying microphone capabilities; however, these instruments have yet to be evaluated with regard to horizontal localization acuity.

Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine the effects of …

Temporal And Aerodynamic Aspects Of Velopharyngeal Coarticulation: Effects Of Age, Gender And Vowel Height, Fadwa Khwaileh

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

Previous studies on the normal patterns of velopharyngeal coarticulation did not provide a multidimensional description of the phenomenon. The primary objective of this study was to determine the effects of age, gender and vowel height on the temporal and aerodynamic aspects of nasal airflow segments related to velar coarticulation in the normal speech of children and adults. A secondary objective was to determine the within speaker variability of the segments.

Speakers consisted of 20 children between the ages of 5 and 7 years, 20 children between 9 and 11 years and 20 adult speakers 18 years or older. Nasal and …