Speech intelligibility and prosody production in children with cochlear implants

Objectives—The purpose of the current study was to examine the relation between speech intelligibility and prosody production in children who use cochlear implants. Methods—The Beginner\u27s Intelligibility Test (BIT) and Prosodic Utterance Production (PUP) task were administered to 15 children who use cochlear implants and 10 children with normal hearing. Adult listeners with normal hearing judged the intelligibility of the words in the BIT sentences, identified the PUP sentences as one of four grammatical or emotional moods (i.e., declarative, interrogative, happy, or sad), and rated the PUP sentences according to how well they thought the child conveyed the designated mood. Results—Percent correct scores were higher for intelligibility than for prosody and higher for children with normal hearing than for children with cochlear implants. Declarative sentences were most readily identified and received the highest ratings by adult listeners; interrogative sentences were least readily identified and received the lowest ratings. Correlations between intelligibility and all mood identification and rating scores except declarative were not significant. Discussion—The findings suggest that the development of speech intelligibility progresses ahead of prosody in both children with cochlear implants and children with normal hearing; however, children with normal hearing still perform better than children with cochlear implants on measures of intelligibility and prosody even after accounting for hearing age. Problems with interrogative intonation may be related to more general restrictions on rising intonation, and th

Technology applications

A summary of NASA Technology Utilization programs for the period of 1 December 1971 through 31 May 1972 is presented. An abbreviated description of the overall Technology Utilization Applications Program is provided as a background for the specific applications examples. Subjects discussed are in the broad headings of: (1) cancer, (2) cardiovascular disease, (2) medical instrumentation, (4) urinary system disorders, (5) rehabilitation medicine, (6) air and water pollution, (7) housing and urban construction, (8) fire safety, (9) law enforcement and criminalistics, (10) transportation, and (11) mine safety

Applications of aerospace technology in the public sector

Current activities of the program to accelerate specific applications of space related technology in major public sector problem areas are summarized for the period 1 June 1971 through 30 November 1971. An overview of NASA technology, technology applications, and supporting activities are presented. Specific technology applications in biomedicine are reported including cancer detection, treatment and research; cardiovascular diseases, diagnosis, and treatment; medical instrumentation; kidney function disorders, treatment, and research; and rehabilitation medicine

Influence of ear canal occlusion and air-conduction feedback on speech production in noise

Millions of workers are exposed to high noise levels on a daily basis. The primary concern for these individuals is the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss, which is typically accomplished by wearing of some type of personal hearing protector. However, many workers complain they cannot adequately hear their co-workers when hearing protectors are worn. There are many aspects related to fully understanding verbal communication between noise-exposed workers that are wearing hearing protection. One topic that has received limited attention is the overall voice level a person uses to communicate in a noisy environment. Quantifying this component provides a starting point for understanding how communication may be improved in such situations. While blocking out external sounds, hearing protectors also induce changes in the wearer’s self-perception of his/her own voice, which is known as the occlusion effect. The occlusion effect and attenuation provided by hearing protectors generally produce opposite effects on that individual’s vocal output. A controlled laboratory study was devised to systematically examine the effect on a talker’s voice level caused by wearing a hearing protector and while being subjected to high noise levels. To test whether differences between occluded and unoccluded vocal characteristics are due solely to the occlusion effect, speech produced while subjects’ ear canals were occluded was measured without the subject effectively receiving any attenuation from the hearing protectors. To test whether vocal output differences are due to the reduction in the talker’s self-perceived voice level, the amount of occlusion was held constant while varying the effective hearing protector attenuation. Results show the occlusion effect, hearing protector attenuation, and ambient noise level all to have an effect on the talker’s voice output level, and all three must be known to fully understand and/or predict the effect in a particular situation. The results of this study may be used to begin an effort to quantify metrics in addition to the basic noise reduction rating that may be used to evaluate a hearing protector’s practical usability/wearability. By developing such performance metrics, workers will have information to make informed decisions about which hearing protector they should use for their particular work environment

Southwest Research Institute assistance to NASA in biomedical areas of the technology utilization program

The activities are reported of the NASA Biomedical Applications Team at Southwest Research Institute between 25 August, 1972 and 15 November, 1973. The program background and methodology are discussed along with the technology applications, and biomedical community impacts

Southwest Research Institute assistance to NASA in biomedical areas of the technology

Significant applications of aerospace technology were achieved. These applications include: a miniaturized, noninvasive system to telemeter electrocardiographic signals of heart transplant patients during their recuperative period as graded situations are introduced; and economical vital signs monitor for use in nursing homes and rehabilitation hospitals to indicate the onset of respiratory arrest; an implantable telemetry system to indicate the onset of the rejection phenomenon in animals undergoing cardiac transplants; an exceptionally accurate current proportional temperature controller for pollution studies; an automatic, atraumatic blood pressure measurement device; materials for protecting burned areas in contact with joint bender splints; a detector to signal the passage of animals by a given point during ecology studies; and special cushioning for use with below-knee amputees to protect the integrity of the skin at the stump/prosthesis interface

Aerospace Medicine and Biology. A continuing bibliography (Supplement 226)

This bibliography lists 129 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in November 1981

Related Services for Vermont\u27s Students with Disabilities

The purpose of Related Services for Vermont’s Students with Disabilities is to offer information regarding related services that is consistent with IDEA and with Vermont Law and regulations. It also describes promising or exemplary practices in education, special education, and related services. The manual’s content applies to all related services disciplines which serve students with disabilities, ages 3 through 21, who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP)

Update On Hearing Loss

Update on Hearing Loss encompasses both the theoretical background on the different forms of hearing loss and a detailed knowledge on state-of-the-art treatment for hearing loss, written for clinicians by specialists and researchers. Realizing the complexity of hearing loss has highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary research. Therefore, all the authors contributing to this book were chosen from many different specialties of medicine, including surgery, psychology, and neuroscience, and came from diverse areas of expertise, such as neurology, otolaryngology, psychiatry, and clinical and experimental audiology