Speech and Hearing Science Commons^™

Caring For Individuals Who Are Experiencing Homelessness: An Audiologist’S Toolkit, Jenna Marie Sparacio

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

National-level counts for individuals experiencing homelessness have been steadily on the rise. People experiencing homelessness face extraordinary barriers and challenges in accessing health care services, including hearing healthcare. Additionally, there is a high prevalence of self- reported hearing difficulties and hearing handicap among people experiencing homelessness. Hearing loss status and management is often not prioritized in healthcare settings, and treatment plans are not typically modified to best address the hearing needs of individuals who are homeless. This evidence-based toolbox for audiologists was developed to help understand and mediate healthcare barriers that people experiencing homelessness face, as well as to help …

User Preferences For Hearing Aid Features: Outcomes, Concepts, And Test Construction, Hasan Saleh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Modern hearing aids can vary in both digital signal processing (DSP) and non-signal processing (non-DSP) features. The complexity and availability of these features can differ at opposite ends of the technology spectrum, potentially influencing aided benefit and preference. Furthermore, the amount of feature choices in modern hearing aids has led to increasing complexity in the selection process.

The first aim of this dissertation was to investigate the aided benefit and preference differences between premium and entry-level hearing aids, and to investigate the drivers of any preference differences. No significant differences were found between the entry-level and premium hearing aids in …

Ehealth Education And Support For Pediatric Hearing Aid Management: Parent Goals, Questions And Challenges, Natalie Nichols, Karen F. Munoz, Guadalupe G. San Miguel, Michael P. Twohig

Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education Student Research

Purpose: To investigate parent goals, questions, and challenges that emerged during coaching phone calls in an eHealth program designed to provide education and support for hearing aid management.

Methods: Coaching phone calls were audio-recorded, transcribed and qualitatively analyzed for emergent themes within the categories of goals, questions, and challenges.

Results: Emergent themes revealed parent goals were focused on self-efficacy, routines, device care and child development. Emergent themes for questions revealed parents asked questions related to the device care, audiology appointments, confirmation of learning, and child development. For challenges emergent themes revealed parents’ own struggles (e.g., with emotions), issues related to …

The Effects Of Cochlear Implants And Hearing Aids On Reading Comprehension In Children: A Literature Review, Shelby Callahan

2021 SLP Posters

A cochlear implant, or CI, is a device surgically implanted by a specialist. The CI has a wire, which contains electrodes, that is lead through the cochlea. The electrodes stimulate the auditory nerve, which provides the perception of sound for the brain, for those who are deaf or severely hard of hearing. Hearing aids, by contrast, are removable devices that are used to amplify sound for people who have residual hearing. Much like the earpiece of a CI, hearing aids are hooked around the back of the ear but are taken in and out of the ear canal by the …

Primary Care Physician Perceptions Of Hearing Loss And Amplification: A Survey, Sophie Racine

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The goal of this survey is to determine primary care physicians’ (PCP) views regarding hearing loss and hearing amplification. A questionnaire was created, using TypeForm©. Factors interrogated in the survey included structural aspects of the health care delivery system, presence of stigma among providers regarding hearing amplification, PCPs’ knowledge of hearing loss, the utility of amplification, official recommendations on screening and amplification, costs of hearing aids and risks of untreated hearing loss, and practitioners’ viewpoints and practice behaviors surrounding hearing loss and amplification. The survey instrument is comprised of four domains: 1) demographics, 2) knowledge of hearing loss and amplification, …

Assistive Devices For Communication Use With The Elderly, Corrine Koepsell, Antony Joseph

AuD Capstone Projects - Communication Sciences and Disorders

Hearing loss is one of the prevalent medical conditions in older adults. Although it has been documented that hearing loss is associated with various aspects of social and physical health, hearing assistive technologies and audiologic rehabilitation have been infrequently tapped clinical solutions. Cost and user problems in background noise are two common reasons why hearing aids are underutilized by seniors, and by younger age groups as well. Alternative tools, such as assistive listening devices, may be helpful for older listeners, even though they are used less frequently than hearing aids. To identify if assistive listening devices are satisfactory, a pilot …

Attitudes And Barriers Affecting Hearing Aid Use In Hispanics Living In The U.S. Borderland Region, Loren Renee Sotelo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Hearing loss can affect a person's overall quality of life, and has been linked to depression and dementia in older adults (Brewster, Ciarleglio, Brown, Chen, Kim, Roose, Golub & Rutherford, 2018; Ciorba, Bianchini, Pelucchi, & Pastore, 2012). In the largest study to date of hearing loss among Hispanic adults residing in the U.S., researchers found that nearly 1 in 7 has hearing loss, which is close to the overall national average (National Institutes of Health, 2015). Currently, hearing aids are the primary/most effective treatment for an age-related hearing loss; Unfortunately, the adult uptake rates are low (Chien & Lin, 2012; …

Objective Differences Between Premium And Mid-Level Digital Hearing Aids, Chelsea C. Barry

Dissertations, 2014-2019

This ongoing study compared premium and mid-level hearing aids from major manufacturers on noise reduction and general electroacoustic characteristics. The findings of this study will contribute to the scarce independent literature evaluating currently available hearing aid technology. Measuring the overall gain reduction in response to a steady state noise can objectively test noise reduction. However, such a method does not specifically test a hearing aid’s ability to reduce speech in specific narrow frequency bands. Hanline & Rout (2008) developed a set of stimuli to evaluate multichannel noise reduction algorithms more precisely. We used these stimuli to test noise reduction abilities …

Characteristics Of Speech (Part 1) And Language (Part 2) For Hearing Devices (Aids), Earl E. Johnson

Earl E. Johnson

No abstract provided.

Better Hearing Devices And Many Forms Of Delivery, Earl E. Johnson

Earl E. Johnson

No abstract provided.

Manipulation Of Auditory Feedback In Individuals With Normal Hearing And Hearing Loss, Le Truc Linh Vaccarello

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Auditory feedback, the hearing of one’s own voice, plays an important role in the detection of speech errors and the regulation of speech production. The limited auditory cues available with a hearing loss can reduce the ability of individuals with hearing loss to use their auditory feedback. Hearing aids are a common assistive device that amplifies inaudible sounds. Hearing aids can also change auditory feedback through digital signal processing, such as frequency lowering. Frequency lowering moves high frequency information of an incoming auditory stimulus into a lower frequency region where audibility may be better. This can change how speech sounds …

A Case Study Of Cochlear Implants And Complications, Carly E. Amurao

Senior Honors Projects

A cochlear implant is an electronic medical device that replaces the function of the damaged inner ear, allowing the individual access to sound. In recent years, there has been tremendous progress in developing technology in the area of cochlear implants to aid those with severe/profound hearing loss. Specifically, there has been a movement towards bilateral implantation. Each cochlear implant candidate has a unique hearing loss, and must reach required bench marks in order to be considered a viable candidate for a cochlear implant. This process includes: meeting the required level of hearing loss, a required trial with hearing aids that …

Better Hearing Devices And Many Forms Of Delivery, Earl E. Johnson

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Characteristics Of Speech (Part 1) And Language (Part 2) For Hearing Devices (Aids), Earl E. Johnson

ETSU Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Modern Prescription Theory And Application: Realistic Expectations For Speech Recognition With Hearing Aids, Earl E. Johnson

ETSU Faculty Works

A major decision at the time of hearing aid fitting and dispensing is the amount of amplification to provide listeners (both adult and pediatric populations) for the appropriate compensation of sensorineural hearing impairment across a range of frequencies (e.g., 160?10000?Hz) and input levels (e.g., 50?75?dB sound pressure level). This article describes modern prescription theory for hearing aids within the context of a risk versus return trade-off and efficient frontier analyses. The expected return of amplification recommendations (i.e., generic prescriptions such as National Acoustic Laboratories?Non-Linear 2, NAL-NL2, and Desired Sensation Level Multiple Input/Output, DSL m[i/o]) for the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) …

Effects Of Coordinated Bilateral Hearing Aids And Auditory Training On Sound Localization, Iman Elsabah Ibrahim

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This thesis has two main objectives: 1) evaluating the benefits of the bilateral coordination of the hearing aid Digital Signal Processing (DSP) features by measuring and comparing the auditory performance with and without the activation of this coordination, and 2) evaluating the benefits of acclimatization and auditory training on such auditory performance and, determining whether receiving training in one aspect of auditory performance (sound localization) would generalize to an improvement in another aspect of auditory performance (speech intelligibility in noise), and to what extent. Two studies were performed. The first study evaluated the speech intelligibility in noise and horizontal sound …

Effect Of Parallel Talk On The Language And Interactional Skills Of Preschoolers With Cochlear Implants And Hearing Aids, Sharon A. Raver, Jonna Bobzien, Corrin Richels, Peggy Hester, Anne Michalek, Nicole Anthony

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Children with profound congenital hearing loss often do not have the same prelinguistic opportunities for social and verbal interaction as their peers with typical hearing [14]. Consequently, language and social skills may be challenging for this group, even after they are provided with amplification or a cochlear implant. This pilot study examined the effectiveness of using a parallel talk intervention to increase the language and interactional skills of three preschoolers with deafnesss. Results revealed that all participants increased verbal turn-taking and that two of the three increased initiated and responded vocal/verbal comments, and initiated and responded nonverbal responses during a …

Time Course Of Speech Changes In Response To Unanticipated Short-Term Changes In Hearing State, Joseph Perkell, Harlan Lane, Margaret Denny, Melanie Matthies, Mark Tiede, Majid Zandipour, Jennell Vick, Ellen Burton

Harlan Lane

The timing of changes in parameters of speech production was investigated in six cochlear implant users by switching their implant microphones off and on a number of times in a single experimental session. The subjects repeated four short, two-word utterances, /dV₁n#SV₂d/ (S=/s/ or /ʃ/), in quasi-random order. The changes between hearing and nonhearing states were introduced by a voice-activated switch at V1 onset. "Postural" measures were made of vowel sound pressure level (SPL), duration, F0; contrast measures were made of vowel separation (distance between pair members in the formant plane) and sibilant separation (difference in spectral means). Changes in parameter …

Effects Of Masking Noise On Vowel And Sibilant Contrasts In Normal-Hearing Speakers And Postlingually Deafened Cochlear Implant Users, Joseph Perkell, Margaret Denny, Harlan Lane, Frank Guenther, Melanie Matthies, Mark Tiede, Jennell Vick, Majid Zandipour, Ellen Burton

Harlan Lane

The role of auditory feedback in speech production was investigated by examining speakers' phonemic contrasts produced under increases in the noise to signal ratio (N/S). Seven cochlear implant users and seven normal-hearing controls pronounced utterances containing the vowels /i/, /u/, /ε/ and /æ/ and the sibilants /s/ and /ʃ/ while hearing their speech mixed with noise at seven equally spaced levels between their thresholds of detection and discomfort. Speakers' average vowel duration and SPL generally rose with increasing N/S. Average vowel contrast was initially flat or rising; at higher N/S levels, it fell. A contrast increase is interpreted as reflecting …

A Preliminary Study Of The Effects Of Cochlear Implants On The Production Of Sibilants, Melanie L. Matthies, Mario A. Svirsky, Harlan L. Lane, Joseph S. Perkell

Harlan Lane

The potential influence of auditory information in the production of /s/ and /ʃ/ was explored for postlingually deafened adults with four-channel Ineraid cochlear implants. Analyses of the spectra of the sibilant sounds were compared for speech obtained prior to implant activation, after early implant use and after 6 months of use. In addition, the output of the Ineraid device (measured at each of the four electrodes) was analyzed with pre- and postactivation speech samples to explore whether the speech production changes were potentially audible to the cochlear-implant user. Results indicated that subjects who showed abnormally low or incorrect contrast between …

Changes In Voice-Onset Time In Speakers With Cochlear Implants, Harlan Lane, Jane Wozniak, Joseph Perkell

Harlan Lane

Voice-onset time (VOT) and syllable duration were measured for the English plosives in /Cɑd/ (C=consonant) context spoken by four postlingually deafened recipients of multichannel (Ineraid) cochlear implants. Recordings were made of their speech before, and at intervals following, activation of the speech processors of their implants. Three patients reduced mean syllable duration following activation. Using measures of VOT and syllable duration from speakers with normal hearing [Volaitis and Miller, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 92, 723–735 (1992)] and from the subjects of this study, VOT is shown to vary approximately linearly with syllable duration over the ranges produced here. Therefore, the …

Effects Of Short-Term Auditory Deprivation On Speech Production In Adult Cochlear Implant Users, Mario A. Svirsky, Harlan Lane, Joseph S. Perkell, Jane Wozniak

Harlan Lane

Speech production parameters of three postlingually deafened adults who use cochlear implants were measured: after 24 h of auditory deprivation (which was achieved by turning the subject's speech processor off); after turning the speech processor back on; and after turning the speech processor off again. The measured parameters included vowel acoustics [F1, F2, F0, sound-pressure level (SPL), duration and H1–H2, the amplitude difference between the first two spectral harmonics, a correlate of breathiness] while reading word lists, and average airflow during the reading of passages. Changes in speech processor state (on-to-off or vice versa) were accompanied by numerous changes in …

Perception And Production Of /R/ Allophones Improve With Hearing From A Cochlear Implant, Melanie L. Matthies, Frank H. Guenther, Margaret Denny, Joseph S. Perkell, Ellen Burton, Jennell Vick, Harlan Lane, Mark Tiede, Majid Zandipour

Harlan Lane

Tongue shape can vary greatly for allophones of /r/ produced in different phonetic contexts but the primary acoustic cue used by listeners, lowered F3, remains stable. For the current study, it was hypothesized that auditory feedback maintains the speech motor control mechanisms that are constraining acoustic variability of F3 in /r/; thus the listener's percept remains /r/ despite the range of articulatory configurations employed by the speaker. Given the potential importance of auditory feedback, postlingually deafened speakers should show larger acoustic variation in /r/ allophones than hearing controls, and auditory feedback from a cochlear implant could reduce that variation over …

Interactions Of Speaking Condition And Auditory Feedback On Vowel Production In Postlingually Deaf Adults With Cochlear Implants, Lucie Ménard, Marek Polak, Margaret Denny, Ellen Burton, Harlan Lane, Melanie Matthies, Nicole Marrone, Joseph Perkell, Mark Tiede, Jennell Vick

Harlan Lane

This study investigates the effects of speaking condition and auditory feedback on vowel production by postlingually deafened adults. Thirteen cochlear implant users produced repetitions of nine American English vowels prior to implantation, and at one month and one year after implantation. There were three speaking conditions (clear, normal, and fast), and two feedback conditions after implantation (implant processor turned on and off). Ten normal-hearing controls were also recorded once. Vowel contrasts in the formant space (expressed in mels) were larger in the clear than in the fast condition, both for controls and for implant users at all three time samples. …

Output Of Compression Hearing Aids With Transient And Continuous Input Stimuli, Carol Ann Gregory

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the compression circuit of a hearing aid could be activated by a high frequency biasing tone such that its output for a transient stimulus could be made to approximate that of a continuous tone alone. Sufficient compression activation by a transient stimulus would mean that this type of hearing aid could be used in obtaining aided ABR measurements, since transient stimuli are commonly used for this procedure. Four hearing aids were used, and transient or continuous stimuli were introduced either alone or in combination with an 8 or 10 kHz biasing …