Data-Driven Audiogram Classification for Mobile Audiometry

Recent mobile and automated audiometry technologies have allowed for the democratization of hearing healthcare and enables non-experts to deliver hearing tests. The problem remains that a large number of such users are not trained to interpret audiograms. In this work, we outline the development of a data-driven audiogram classification system designed specifically for the purpose of concisely describing audiograms. More specifically, we present how a training dataset was assembled and the development of the classification system leveraging supervised learning techniques. We show that three practicing audiologists had high intra- and inter-rater agreement over audiogram classification tasks pertaining to audiogram configuration, symmetry and severity. The system proposed here achieves a performance comparable to the state of the art, but is signific

Hearing Loss and Driving: Does Auditory Distraction Have a Disproportionate Effect on the Hearing Impaired?

Research showing differences between the driving outcomes of hearing impaired and normally hearing individuals (such as raised road traffic accidents), proposes this has occurred due to two main reasons: (1) that sound present in the driving environment is inaudible for hearing impaired drivers, and (2) that audible sound is disproportionately distracting for the hearing impaired driver. This thesis reports on a series of experiments which investigated the latter of these proposals. A questionnaire study was used to explore driving patterns and experiences of hearing impaired individuals. Empirical studies were also conducted to investigate the effect of hearing loss on driving performance and visual attention, under auditory task conditions. Questionnaire responses suggested that hearing impaired individuals did not perceive hearing loss as problematic for driving performance. However, the self-reported hearing of respondents predicted reports of driving difficulty better than any other independent variable. A laboratory-based study hinted that extra visual task performance decrements as a result of auditory engagement occurred in hearing impaired individuals. Since these findings were in older adults, the influence of factors co-existing with hearing loss (such as cognitive decline) were questioned. These confounds were removed by presenting an auditory task subject to simulated hearing loss in a dual-task driving simulator experiment; allowing for a young, normally hearing sample, and within-subjects design. The resulting data showed no disproportionate effect of hearing loss on driving performance during the concurrent auditory task. Accordingly, distortion to sound arising from hearing loss may not be entirely responsible for the disproportionate effects of auditory distraction in hearing impaired drivers. Other factors, co-existing with hearing loss, appear to act synergistically to cause problems. Future work should investigate further the aspects of hearing loss (and co-existing factors) responsible for changes in driving outcomes, by, for instance, using a group of young hearing impaired participants

Terapias auditivas para acúfenos (tinnitus)

Un acúfeno (tinnitus) es la percepción de un sonido en ausencia de estimulación acústica externa, es decir, la experiencia consciente de un sonido que se origina en la propia cabeza del paciente. En colaboración con el departamento de acústica (CAEND) del Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), se pretende revertir (de forma paliativa) las molestias, con ayuda de terapias sonoras que estimulan el sistema auditivo. Primero, se analizan los tratamientos existentes que se utilizan para atender a los pacientes diagnosticados. Por último, se diseñan dos aplicaciones informáticas referentes a las terapias: Auditory Discrimination Training (ADT) y Enriched Acoustic Environment (EAE). Abstract Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of external acoustic stimulation, in addition, the conscious experience a sound originating from the patient’s own head. In collaboration with the department of acoustic (CAEND) of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), is to reverse (for palliation) discomfort, using sound therapies that stimulate the auditory system. First, we analyze the existing treatments are used to treat patients diagnosed. Finally, two applications are designed regarding therapies: Auditory Discrimination Training (ADT) and Enriched Acoustic Environment (EAE)

Research Plans for Improving Understanding of Effects of Very Low-Frequency Noise of Heavy Lift Rotorcraft

This report reviews the English-language technical literature on infrasonic and low-frequency noise effects; identifies the most salient effects of noise produced by a future large civil tiltrotor aircraft on crew, passengers, and communities near landing areas; and recommends research needed to improve understanding of the effects of such noise on passengers, crew, and residents of areas near landing pads

Mining Audiograms to Improve the Interpretability of Automated Audiometry Measurements

Many people with hearing loss are unaware of it and do not seek benefit from available interventions such as hearing aids. This is in part due to the limited accessibility to qualified hearing healthcare providers in developing and developed countries alike. Automated audiometry, which has gained in popularity amidst the torrent of advances in telemedicine and mobile health, makes it possible to deliver basic hearing tests to remote or otherwise underserved communities at low cost. While this technology makes it possible to perform hearing assessments outside of a sound booth, many individuals administering the test are non-specialists, and thus, have a limited ability to interpret audiometric measurements and to make tailored recommendations. In this paper, we present the first steps towards the development of a flexible, supervised learning approach for the classification of audiograms in terms of their shape, severity and symmetry. More specifically, we outline our approach to building a set of non-redundant, annotation-ready audiograms from a much larger dataset. In addition, we present a Rapid Audiogram Annotation Environment (RAAE) designed specifically for the collection of audiogram annotations from a large community of expert audiologists. Preliminary results indicate that annotations provided through our environment are consistent leading to low intra-coder variability. Data gathered through the RAAE will form the basis of learning algorithms to help non-experts make better dec

Timely and reliable evaluation of the effects of interventions: a framework for adaptive meta-analysis (FAME)

Most systematic reviews are retrospective and use aggregate data AD) from publications, meaning they can be unreliable, lag behind therapeutic developments and fail to influence ongoing or new trials. Commonly, the potential influence of unpublished or ongoing trials is overlooked when interpreting results, or determining the value of updating the meta-analysis or need to collect individual participant data (IPD). Therefore, we developed a Framework for Adaptive Metaanalysis (FAME) to determine prospectively the earliest opportunity for reliable AD meta-analysis. We illustrate FAME using two systematic reviews in men with metastatic (M1) and non-metastatic (M0)hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (HSPC)

Improving broadcast accessibility for hard of hearing individuals : using object-based audio personalisation and narrative importance

Technological advances in broadcasting can be the impetus for advances in accessibility services. For the 11 million individuals in the United Kingdom with some degree of hearing loss, the advent of object-based broadcasting and it’s personalisation features has the potential to facilitate a transition towards more accessible broadcast audio. Part I of this work conducts a systematic review of previous object-based accessibility research, identifying the personalisation of redundant non-speech objects as a potentially high impact yet unexplored area of research. Guided by these findings, and the results of a survey of end-user needs, the specific research questions of this work are then developed as:- What is the relationship between redundant non-speech audio objects and broadcast speech intelligibility, for normal and hard of hearing listeners? - Can a system be designed which allows end-users to control the balance between audio objects for dramatic content which is simple to use and preserves comprehension? Part II of this work shows that the presence of redundant non-speech sounds improve speech recognition in noise in normal hearing listeners, even when the sound partially masks the speech. Subsequent investigations show that this effect exists within hard of hearing cohorts also, and the benefit yielded by non-speech sounds can be predicted by the severity of hearing loss in an individual's better hearing ear. Part III work translates these novel findings into practical broadcast accessibility technology, through the development of a new conceptual framework called: `Narrative Importance’. Based on this framework, production tools and an end-user interface are developed and deployed in a large scale public trial. The results of this trial demonstrate that this new approach to accessible audio can deliver content which is more enjoyable with reduced energetic masking of speech, whilst still maintaining the creative integrity and comprehension of the content

Engineering data compendium. Human perception and performance, volume 3

The concept underlying the Engineering Data Compendium was the product of a research and development program (Integrated Perceptual Information for Designers project) aimed at facilitating the application of basic research findings in human performance to the design of military crew systems. The principal objective was to develop a workable strategy for: (1) identifying and distilling information of potential value to system design from existing research literature, and (2) presenting this technical information in a way that would aid its accessibility, interpretability, and applicability by system designers. The present four volumes of the Engineering Data Compendium represent the first implementation of this strategy. This is Volume 3, containing sections on Human Language Processing, Operator Motion Control, Effects of Environmental Stressors, Display Interfaces, and Control Interfaces (Real/Virtual)