The listening talker: A review of human and algorithmic context-induced modifications of speech

International audienceSpeech output technology is finding widespread application, including in scenarios where intelligibility might be compromised - at least for some listeners - by adverse conditions. Unlike most current algorithms, talkers continually adapt their speech patterns as a response to the immediate context of spoken communication, where the type of interlocutor and the environment are the dominant situational factors influencing speech production. Observations of talker behaviour can motivate the design of more robust speech output algorithms. Starting with a listener-oriented categorisation of possible goals for speech modification, this review article summarises the extensive set of behavioural findings related to human speech modification, identifies which factors appear to be beneficial, and goes on to examine previous computational attempts to improve intelligibility in noise. The review concludes by tabulating 46 speech modifications, many of which have yet to be perceptually or algorithmically evaluated. Consequently, the review provides a roadmap for future work in improving the robustness of speech output

Compression and amplification algorithms in hearing aids impair the selectivity of neural responses to speech

In quiet environments, hearing aids improve the perception of low-intensity sounds. However, for high-intensity sounds in background noise, the aids often fail to provide a benefit to the wearer. Here, using large-scale single-neuron recordings from hearing-impaired gerbils—an established animal model of human hearing—we show that hearing aids restore the sensitivity of neural responses to speech, but not their selectivity. Rather than reflecting a deficit in supra-threshold auditory processing, the low selectivity is a consequence of hearing-aid compression (which decreases the spectral and temporal contrasts of incoming sound) and amplification (which distorts neural responses, regardless of whether hearing is impaired). Processing strategies that avoid the trade-off between neural sensitivity and selectivity should improve the performance of hearing aids

Neurologic Music Therapy To Improve Speaking Voice In Individuals Diagnosed With Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects dopamine production in the motor areas of the brain leading to impairments in muscular control (Parkinson’s Foundation, 2018). Impairments in motor functioning can also impact respiratory control and voice production (America Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2018). Neurologic Music Therapy (NMT) techniques have demonstrated the ability of music-based interventions to improve maximum phonation time, voice quality, articulatory control, and quality of life in people with PD (Azekawa, & LaGasse, 2018; Haneishi, 2001; Tamplin, 2008; Shih et al., 2012; Elefant, Baker, Lotan, Lagesen, & Skeie, 2012). This study sought to investigate how a music therapy protocol using NMT techniques impacts vocal functioning in people with PD. The effectiveness of specific Neurologic Music Therapy techniques targeting respiratory control andimproving vocal functioning was explored. Six persons with idiopathic PD were enrolled in weekly one-hour music therapy sessions for 6 weeks. Data collection consisted of acoustic, perceptual, and self-report measures of voice were collected before and after a NMT intervention protocol. The acoustic and self-report measures were found to have no statistically significant differences from pre to post-intervention testing. The results from the perceptual measures yielded statistically significant differences for characteristics of breathiness, pitch, loudness, and overall severity of voice functioning. The results indicate that Neurologic Music Therapy interventions may be beneficial in improving speaking voice in individuals with PD. Further research with larger sample sizes and control groups are necessary to determine if resulting statistically significant differences are generalizable to the PD population to yield clinically relevant changes

Physiology, Psychoacoustics and Cognition in Normal and Impaired Hearing

​The International Symposium on Hearing is a prestigious, triennial gathering where world-class scientists present and discuss the most recent advances in the field of human and animal hearing research. The 2015 edition will particularly focus on integrative approaches linking physiological, psychophysical and cognitive aspects of normal and impaired hearing. Like previous editions, the proceedings will contain about 50 chapters ranging from basic to applied research, and of interest to neuroscientists, psychologists, audiologists, engineers, otolaryngologists, and artificial intelligence researchers.

Physiology, Psychoacoustics and Cognition in Normal and Impaired Hearing

otorhinolaryngology; neurosciences; hearin