Contribution of low- and high-frequency bands to binaural unmasking in hearing-impaired listeners

Authors

  • Gusztav Lőcsei Hearing Systems, Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
  • Sébastien Santurette Hearing Systems, Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark; Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery & Audiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Torsten Dau Hearing Systems, Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
  • Ewen N. MacDonald Hearing Systems, Department of Electrical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark

Keywords:

binaural unmasking, interaural time difference, hearing loss

Abstract

This study investigated the contribution of interaural timing differences (ITDs) in different frequency regions to binaural unmasking (BU) of speech. Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) and binaural intelligibility level differences (BILDs) were measured in two-talker babble in 6 young normal-hearing (NH) and 9 elderly hearing-impaired (HI) listeners with normal or closeto- normal hearing at and below 1.5 kHz. Target sentences were presented diotically, embedded in a stream of diotic or dichotic maskers. Both target and masker sentences were split into frequency regions above and below 1.25 kHz. In the dichotic listening conditions, the maskers were lateralized to the left side by introducing 0.68-ms ITDs in either the low-frequency band, the high-frequency band, or both bands simultaneously. BILDs were found to be similar in both listener groups when the ITDs were imposed on the lowfrequency band only. ITDs in the high-frequency band alone did not produce any BILD in any of the groups. However, when ITDs were imposed in both frequency bands, the NH listeners yielded significantly greater BILDs than the HI listeners. The results suggest that, on a group level, HI listeners relied solely on ITDs in the low-frequency band while NH listeners were able to utilize envelope ITDs above 1.25 kHz to facilitate the BU of speech.

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Adaptive processes in hearing

Additional Files

Published

2018-01-04

How to Cite

Lőcsei, G., Santurette, S., Dau, T., & MacDonald, E. N. (2018). Contribution of low- and high-frequency bands to binaural unmasking in hearing-impaired listeners. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Auditory and Audiological Research, 6, 303–310. Retrieved from https://proceedings.isaar.eu/index.php/isaarproc/article/view/2017-37

Issue

Vol. 6 (2017): Adaptive Processes in Hearing

Section

2017/5. Speech perception: Behavioral measures and modelling

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