bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Masking, Temporal Integration, and Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Authors: Chung David Y.
Published: July 2014

This study was undertaken basically to examine the effect of white noise masking on temporal integration and how the frequency dependence of temporal integration is related to hearing loss. The threshold differences between 500-msec and 20-msec at .5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz were found for 147 ears of 86 subjects with normal hearing and with various amounts of cochlear hearing loss. Thresholds were measured in three levels of background white noise—30, 60, and 90 dB SPL. The principal finding was that temporal integration is frequency dependent and this dependence is not an epiphenomenon of the decrease in temporal integration due to cochlear hearing loss.
An Evaluation of Tympanometric Estimates of Ear Canal Volume
Authors: Shanks Janet E. , Lilly David J.
Published: July 2014

The accuracy of tympanometric estimates of ear canal volume was evaluated by testing the following two assumptions on which the procedure is based: (a) ear canal volume does not change when ear canal pressure is varied, and (b) an ear canal pressure of 200 daPa drives the impedance of the middle ear transmission system to infinity so the immittance measured at 200 daPa can be attributed to the ear canal volume alone. The first assumption was tested by measuring the changes in ear canal volune in eight normal subjects for ear canal pressures between ±400 daPa using a manometric procedure based on Boyle's gas law. The data did not support the first assumption. Ear canal volume changed by a mean of .113 ml over the ±400 daPa pressure range with slightly larger volume changes occurring for negative ear canal pressures than for positive ear canal pressures. Most of the volume change was attributed to movement of the probe and to movement of the cartilaginous walls of the ear canal. The second assumption was tested by comparing estimates of ear canal volume from susceptance tympanograms with a direct measurement of ear canal volume adjusted for changes in volume due to changes in ear canal pressure between +±400 daPa. These data failed to support the second assumption. All tympanometric estimates of ear canal volume were larger than the measured volumes. The largest error (39%) occurred for an ear canal pressure of 200 daPa at 220 Hz, whereas the smallest error (10%) occurred for an ear canal pressure of ±400 daPa at 660 Hz. This latter susceptance value (-400 daPa at 660 Hz) divided lay three is suggested to correct the 220-Hz tympanogram to the plane of the tympanic membrane. Finally, the effects of errors in estimating ear canal volume on static immittance and on tympanometry are discussed.
Masking of Pure Tones by Broad-Band Noise in Cochlear-Impaired Listeners
Authors: Tyler Richard S. , Fernandes Mariano A. , Wood Elizabeth J.
Published: July 2014

We measured masked thresholds for pulsed pure tones (.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 kHz) in the presence of different levels of broad-band noise (nominally 0, 20, 40, and 60 dB/Hz). Several of the 16 cochlear-impaired listeners displayed masked thresholds that were considerably higher than those obtained from 10 normal listeners. At the 60 dB/Hz noise level the correlation coefficients between thresholds in noise and thresholds in quiet were r = .36, .44, .63, and .64 for signal frequencies of .5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 kHz, respectively. The growth of masking, as masker level was increased, was linear for the normal listeners but was disproportionate and nonlinear in some cochlear-impaired listeners. In these data and data from other studies, it is clear that thresholds in noise cannot be predicted from thresholds in quiet. Masked thresholds are related to other measures of frequency resolution and to speech intelligibility in noise, but it is argued that psychoacoustic tuning curves provide more direct measures of the auditory-filter characteristics.
Phonological Constraints on the Sentence Productions of Language-Disordered Children
Authors: Panagos John M. , Prelock Patricia A.
Published: July 2014

Effects of phonologica] and syntactic structure on the sentence productions of language-disordered school children (mean age = 6:2 years) were investigated. The syllabic complexity of target sentences as well as clause embedding significantly contributed to sentence inaccuracy (omission. substitution, addition, and transposition errors). Phonological complexity in lexical items disrupted syntactic performance in a quantitative fashion. Whereas the syntactic constructions determined the patterns of errors, added phonological cmnplexity simply increased the errors within the patterns. The causal interrelationships between children's syntactic and phonological disorders are discussed in terms of a theory of general organizational deficit.
Development in the Use and Understanding of Polite Forms in Children
Authors: Nippold Marilyn A. , Leonard Laurence B. , Anastopoulos Arthur
Published: July 2014

In two experiments, children's use and understanding of polite forms and the relationship these abilities share with an ability to adopt the perspective of another were examined. Development in the understanding of polite forms seemed best characterized as sensitivity to the function of these forms in an increasing number of sentence types. Development in the use of polite forms could be viewed as an increasing tendency to produce more than one polite form in the same utterance and to use a wider variety of interrogative types when expressing politeness. Emergence of the use and understanding of politeness in speech at age 3 seemed related to an emerging ability to adopt the perspective of another, However, development of politeness beyond this age seemed related only to a form of perspective taking in which knowledge of social roles plays a part.
Developmental Disfluency in 2-, 4-, and 6-Year-Old Boys in Neutral and Stress Situations
Authors: Wexler Karin B.
Published: July 2014

Disfluency characteristics of 36 nonstuttering boys aged 2, 4, and 6 were analyzed from tape-recorded speech samples made during free play within neutral and stress situations. Comtparisons of frequency of disfluency were made among the different ages within each situation. In the neutral situation. 2-year-olds had significantly higher disfluency frequencies than either 4- or 6-year-olds for word repetitions and phrase repetitions; 2-.vear-olds also had a higher frequeney of disrhythmic phonations than 6-year-olds but not than 4-year-olds. In the stress situation, 2-year-olds had a higher frequency of average oscillation (number of repetitions per instance of disfluency) than either 4- or 6-year-olds and a higher frequency of disrhythmic phonations than 6-year-olds. Comparisons of frequency of disfluency were also made between the neutral and stress situations. The only statistically significant diferrences were for word repetitions and phrase repetitious tor 2-year-olds, with higher means for the neutral situation.
Developmental Disfluency and Emerging Grammar II
Authors: Colburn Norma , Mysak Edward D.
Published: July 2014

From a corpus of over 47,000 spontaneous utterances from four nonstuttering preschool children who were beginning to use syntax, 4,881 multiword, disfluent utterances were identified. Semantic-syntactic structures were identified among the disfluent multiword utterances and differences in frequeney of structures were examined. There was variability in the developmental disfluency of the individual children, but each child's pattern of disfluency was systematic across time. Developmental disflueney shifted across structures systematically for each child and appeared to reflect a "practice effect" for those children beginning to learn syntax. The co-occurrence of disfluency with specific syntactic structures supported the premise that developmental disfluency was more strongly attached to the syntax of utterances than to the production of particular words.
Dialogue in Deaf and Hearing Preschoolers
Authors: McKirdy Laura S. , Blank Marion
Published: July 2014

The language interactions of pairs of preschool-age deaf and preschool-age hearing children were recorded in play sessions and analyzed according to a system for assessing dialogue that has been developed by the second author, In the system, each person over the course of a dialogue is seen its playing two roles: one as speaker-initiator (who puts forth ideas) the other as speaker-responder (who responds to the ideas that have been put forth by the partner in the dialogue). The results indicated that both roles were used by the deaf and the hearing dyads, but their pattern of performance was different. As speaker-initiators, the deaf children displayed it narrower range of complexity in their utterances. As speaker-responders, they were less likely to respond to utterances of their partners, particularly those utterances in the form of comments, and they more readily showed difficulties in responding appropriately its their partner's initiations increased in complexity. The discussion focuses on the implications of viewing language performance within a communication framework.
Differentiation of Types of Presbycusis Using the Masking-Level Difference
Authors: Novak Robert E. , Anderson Charles V.
Published: July 2014

Masking-level differences in quiet at 500 Hz were used to demonstrate evidence of elevated noise levels within the auditory systems of subjects with assumed neural presbycusis. The following five groups of subjects were evaluated: normal-hearing young and old adults; and older adults with metabolic, sensory, or neural presbycusis. The group with assumed neural presbycusis—that is, bilateral high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss and poor word-recognition performance—had masking-level differences (a) in quiet that were significantly larger than those for the other groups and (b) in noise that were significantly smaller than those for the other groups. The data suggest that elevated internal noise levels accompany neural presbycusis.
Recognition Masking-Level Differences Spondaic Words for 10 Cid W-1
Authors: Wilson Richard H. , Shanks Janet E. , Koebsell Katherine A.
Published: July 2014

Psychometric functions for the S
o
N
o
and Sπ.N
o
conditions and masking level differences were obtained for a subgroup of 10 words having the largest masking-level differences of 36 CID W-1 spondaic words. The mean masking-level difference obtained from 36 young normal adults was 9.4 dB with a standard deviation of 1.2 dB. The smallest masking-level difference of 7.4 dB was suggested as the low cut-off for normalcy. A shorter version of the masking-level difference procedure was suggested for clinical implementation. The subgroup of 10 words may permit a wider separation between normal and abnormal performance, and thus may enhance the clinical utility of the masking-level difference task for speech recognition. Because the magnitude of the masking-level difference will vary with the materials and procedures used, each clinic must establish its own norms.
A Cinefluorographic Investigation of Repeated Fluent Productions of Stutterers in an Adaptation Procedure
Authors: Zimmermann Gerald N. , Hanley J. M.
Published: July 2014

Cinefluorography was used to study three stutterers and two nonstutterers repeating a passage made up of monosyllables. CVC target words of the form/cæt/were embedded in the passage and were analyzed to determine the effects of repeating the passage on velocities, displacements, and durations of movements of the tongue, jaw, and lower lip. Coordination among the articulators was also assessed. The investigation was undertaken to test the hypothesis that decreases in velocities and displacements, increased movement durations, and decreased latency between the onsets of jaw movements and of tongue tip movements would be associated with the repeated readings. The hypothesis was not supported by the results. A post hoe analysis showed that a decrease in the variability, of instantaneous velocities (and by inference a decrease in variation in muscle stiffness) was associated with practice for the three stutterers but not for the nonstutterers. Inferences about the adaptation effect are made related (a} to the stabilization of tonic muscle activity which may be associated with a decrease in arousal, and (b) to the, effects of practice.
The Determination of Tinnitus Loudness Considering the Effects of Recruitment
Authors: Tyler Richard S. , Conrad-Armes David
Published: July 2014

We have attempted to determine a meaningful measure of tinnitus loudness that considers loudness recruitment. Sixteen subjects with sensorineural tinnitus adjusted the level of a pure tone so that it was (a) at threshold, (b) equal in loudness to the tinnitus, and (c) uncomfortably loud. The pure-tone frequency was (a) at the frequency of the tinnitus pitch, and (b) at the octave frequency between 500 and 4000 Hz having the pure-tone threshold closest to 0 dB HL. In addition, the subjects adjusted the level of a broadband noise so that it (a) was at threshold, (b) just masked the tinnitus, and (c) was uncomfortably loud. These measurements were performed both in the ear ipsilateral and in the ear contralateral to the tinnitus. Formulae based on abnormal loudness functions and uncomfortable loudness levels are presented that convert equal-loudness matches in dB sensation level (SL) into loudness in sones. The level of broadband noise (in dB SL) required to mask tinnitus was about the same in the ipsilateral and in the contralateral ear for most of our subjects, regardless of the ear in which the tinnitus was localized. This noise level (in dB SL) required to mask the tinnitus correlated well with the level (in dB SL) of a tone at the most normal frequency judged equal in loudness to the tinnitus.
The Accuracy of Formant Frequency Measurements
Authors: Monsen Randall B. , Engebretson A. Maynard
Published: July 2014

The accuracy of spectrographic techniques and of linear prediction analysis in measuring formant frequencies is compared. The first three formant frequencies 90 synthetic speech tokens were measured by three experienced spectrographic readers and by linear prediction analysis. For fundamental frequencies between 100 and 300 Hz, both methods are accurate to within approximatey , ±60 Hz for both first and second formants. The third formant can be measured with the same degree of accuracy by linear prediction, but only to within ± 110 by spectrographic means. The accuracy of both methods decreases greatly when fundamental frequency is 350 Hz or greater. These limits of measurement appear to be within the range of the difference limens for formant frequencies
Spectrographic Analysis of Vowel and Word Duration in Apraxia of Speech
Authors: Collins Michael , Rosenbek John C. , Wertz Robert T.
Published: July 2014

Most nomml speakers of English reduce the duration of the stem word vowel as words increase in length. Theoretically, this durational reduction reflects low-level linguistic knowledge. We posed two questions in this study: First, do speakers with apraxia of speech progressively reduce vowel durations as words increase in length, and, second, do these vowel and word durations differ significantly from normal productions?

We asked 11 apraxia of speech patients and 11 normal speakers to repeat three sets of three words which progressively increased in length, and we analyzed these productions spectrographically. Our results revealed that both groups reduced vowel duration its words increased in length. Word and vowel duration for apraxia of speech patients, however, were often significantly longer than those for normal speakers. Our results suggest that vowel reduction is a robust phenomenon which resists impairment in apraxia of speech, despite often significant disturbances in motor programming.
Perceptual Organization of Speech Sounds by Infants
Authors: Hillenbrand James
Published: July 2014

An operant head-turn procedure was used to test whether 6-month-old infants recognize the auditor similarity of speech sounds sharing a value on a phonetic-feature dimension. One group of infants was reinforced for head turns when a change occurred from a series of repeating background stimuli containing nasal consonants ([m, n, ŋ]) to repetitions from a category of syllables containing voiced stop consonants ([b, d, g]), or to a change from stops to nasals. The stimuli were naturally produced by both male and female talkers. The performance of infants in this "phonetic" group was compared to that of infants in a "nonphonetic" control group. Using the same procedures, these infants were reinforced for head turns to a group of phonetically unrelated speech sounds. Results indicated that the performance of infants in the group trained on phonetically related speech sounds was far superior to that of infants in the nonphonetic control group. These findings suggest that prelinguistic infants can perceptually organize speech sounds on the basis of auditory properties related to feature similarity.
Chest Wall Vibrations in Singers
Authors: Sundberg J.
Published: July 2014

The chest wall vibrations generated by phonation were examined with respect to origin, amplitude, and spectrum in seven singers. The vibrations were picked up in male and female singer by means of small accelerometers, which were fastened to the skin on the center of the sternum, and, for the purpose of comparison, on the thyroid cartilage and on the trachea a few cm below the larynx. Among the factors which influence the chest wall vibrations, the subglottal pressure oscillations seem to represent the most important excitation, while the mechanical shocks from the vocal fold vibrations seem secondary. Supra- and subglottal resonances seem moderately influential. The results of the investigation suggest that it is the voice source, particularly the amplitude of its fundamental, which is reflected in the chest wall vibrations. The amplitude of these vibrations seem to lie above the threshold of the Pacinian receptors for vibratory sensation as long as the fundamental frequency is below approximately 300 Hz. The amplitude of the voice source fundamental and hence the sensation of chest vibrations vary considerably as phonation is changed along the phonatory dimension which ranges from "pressed/tense/strained" through "flow" to "breaty" phonation. For this reason it seems likely that the sensation of chest vibrations can serve as a useful nonauditory and hence room-independent signal for the voluntary control of phonation.
The Intelligibility of Deaf Speech to Experienced and Inexperienced Listeners
Authors: McGarr Nancy S.
Published: July 2014

The study examines differences between experienced and inexperienced listeners in understanding the speech of the deaf. Listeners heard test words in three conditions: in sentences, as isolated words, and as segmented words (the later being words originally produced in sentences, excised, and then presented in isolation). Factors believed to account for listener differences were examined. These were relative word intelligibility, context, including the amount of linguistic information in a sentence, the overall length, and the position of the test word in the sentence. Scores for experienced listeners were consistently higher than those for inexperienced listeners across each factor considered. Differences between listeners were greatest for test words in sentences, followed by isolated and segmented test words. However, there was no statistically significant interaction between listener experience and any of the factors considered. Thus, the data do not support the hypotheses that have been proposed to account for listener differences. For both experienced and inexperienced listeners, scores varied systematically depending on the relative predicted intelligibility of the test words and the amount of context in the sentence.
Automatic Analysis of Voice Fundamental Frequency and Intensity Using a Visi-Pitch
Authors: Horii Yoshiyuki
Published: July 2014

This research note describes a method for automatic analysis of voice fundamental frequency and intensity using a Visi-Pitch Model 6087 and an Apple II computer equipped with an analog-to-digital converter (TecMar AD-211). The method provides a simple means of quantizing fundamental frequency and intensity and extracting their distributional characteristicss from the Visi-Pitch, an instrument which is gaining wide-spread use by speech pathologists, audiologists, and linguists for clinical and research purposes.
Acoustic Analysis of Stutterers' Fluent Speech before and after Therapy
Authors: Metz Dale Evan , Samar Vincent J. , Sacco Pat Richard
Published: July 2014

The speech of 14 stutterers was analyzed prior to and at the termination of a 5-week stuttering therapy program to examine the relationship between nine selected acoustic variables and stuttering frequency. Group analyses indicated that pre- to post- therapy changes in stuttering frequency were accompanied by mean changes in five of the nine acoustic variables, a finding which is consistent with previous literature. Correlational analyses indicated that only silence in the voiced stop consonant intervocalic interval (IVI) was significantly correlated with stuttering frequency prior to therapy (i.e., lower stuttering frequency values were associated with shorter durations of silence during the IVI). Furthermore, the degree of reduction in silence was positively correlated with the magnitude of reduction in stuttering frequency due to therapy. These findings suggest that silence in the IVI may reflect the operational status of some mechanism which may underlie disfluent speech.
The Effect of Manipulating Phonation Duration on Stuttering
Authors: Ingham Roger J. , Montgomery Jack , Ulliana Louise
Published: July 2014

Two single-subject experiments with two adult stutterers were conducted to assess the effect of changing the frequencv of phonation intervals that were shorter or greater than prescribed durations during spontaneous speech. Both subjects modified the frequency of prescribed phonation intervals and showed changes in the frequency of these intervals that were positively related to decreases and increases in stuttering frequency. A perceptual analysis of the subjects' speech quality during phonation control conditions showed that when stuttering frequency was reduced, listeners could detect changes in the speech quality, of both subjects; however, only one subject's speech during these conditions was described as nonnormal sounding. The therapeutic and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
Picture Naming in Language-Impaired Children
Authors: Leonard Laurence B. , Nippold Marilyn A. , Kail Robert , Hale Catherine A.
Published: July 2014

A picture-naming task was used to examine word-finding problems in language-impaired children. The subjects included 20 language-impaired children, 20 normal children matched to the language-impaired children for chronological age, and 20 normal children matched to the language-impaired children on a composite index of language age. Children were shown 64 pictures of objects and asked to name each as rapidly as possible. The principal findings were that (a) pictures of objects with more frequently occurring names were named more rapidly than pictures of objects with less frequently occurring names; (b) language-impaired children named pictures less rapidly than their chronological-age peers but more rapidly than their language-age peers; and (c) the effects of frequency of occurrence on naming time were comparable for all three groups of children. Factors that may have accounted for the findings are discussed.
Disfluencies at the Onset of Stuttering
Authors: Yairi Ehud , Lewis Barbara
Published: July 2014

This study describes disfluencies in rare speech samples obtained from young children in temporal proximity to their stuttering onsets. Ten 2 and 3 year olds diagnosed by parents to have begun stuttering for periods of 2 months or less and 10 matched normally speaking children served as subjects. Analyses of spontaneous speech indicated that stutterers were three times more disfluent than nonstutterers. Part-word repetitions and sound prolongations were found to distinguish the two groups significantly. Stutterers were also found to have significantly more repetition units per instance of disfluency than control subjects. Theoretical and practical conclusions are discussed.
Use of Contrastive Stress in Normal, Aphasic, and Autistic Children
Authors: Baltaxe Christiane A. M.
Published: July 2014

Studies in child language have shown that contrastive stress appears to be an early developing device to mark the topic-comment distinction, and thus is important for the acquisition of pragmatic knowledge. This study examined the use of contrastive stress by autistic children with mean-length-of-utterance (MLU) scores between 1.9 and 4.1 morphemes. Normal and aphasic subjects at similar MLU levels served as contrast groups. The contrastive stress task required that the subjects verbally assess the counterfactual nature of a presupposition in a yes-no question. Toy manipulation was used to elicit the desired responses in a play situation. Listener judgment served as the basis for analyzing results. Although all subject groups were able to perform the task, differences were seen in the number of correct responses and the patterns of stress misassignment.
Validity of Hearing Thresholds Obtained from the Rising Portion of the Audiogram in Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Authors: Humes Larry E. , Tharpe Anne Marie , Bratt Gene W.
Published: July 2014

Two experiments were performed for this study. The purpose of both experiments was to examine the validity of pure-tone hearing thresholds obtained near the rising portion of a sensorineural hearing loss. Recent work by other investigators has suggested that thresholds obtained near the rising portion of the audiogram may not correspond to the severity of damage at the cochlear place associated with the test frequency. In the first experiment this issue was addressed in 11 subjects having low frequency sensorineural hearing loss, whereas 12 subjects (19 ears) having notch-shaped high-frequency sensorineural hearing losses were examined in the second experiment. The results indicated that thresholds obtained from the rising portion of the audiometric configuration were, in most instances, determined by sensitivity at the test frequency. An exception to this generalization involved low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss with a slope for the rising portion of the audiogram exceeding -25 dB/octave. In these cases the severity of the loss may be underestimated for test frequencies immediately adjacent to the rising portion of the audiogram.
Analysis ofStutterers' Voice Onset Times and Fundamental Frequency Contours during Fluency
Authors: Healey E. Charles , Gutkin Barbara
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to examine stutterers' and nonstutterers' fluent voice onset time (VOT) and fundamental frequency (F
0
) contour measures from target syllables located at the beginning of a carrier phrase. Ten adult male stutterers were matched within one year of age with 10 adult male nonstutterers. Oscillographic and spectrographic analyses of subjects' VOT and F
0
at vowel onset, average vowel F
0
, and speed and range of Fo change were obtained from fluent productions of 18 stop consonant-vowel syllables. Results showed that VOTs for voiced stops and the range of F
0
change for voiceless stops were associated with significant between-group differences. All other dependent measures were not significantly different between the two groups. When eompared with past research, these findings indicate that greater differences emerge between stutterers and nonstutterers when measures of fluency are taken at the beginning than in the middle of a carrier phrase. Implications for future research are discussed.
Discriminability of the Quality of Amplitude-Compressed Speech
Authors: Náblek Igor V.
Published: July 2014

In an earlier experiment on intelligibility of amplitude-compressed speech, subjects could not hear a difference between noncompressed speech and speech under some conditions of compression. Therefore, compression conditions were determined in which the quality of the two types of speech could be distinguished. When speech average level was 10 dB above a masking noise, compression ratio (CR) was equal to 2.5, and the attack time (Ta) was 3 ms, the release time (Tr) had to be shorter than 120 ms to achieve discrimination by trained normal-hearing subjects. With longer attack times and/or higher compression ratios, the critical value of release times increased. Thus, the range in which the discrimination was observed also increased (for CR = 5 and Ta = 10 ms, the critical Tr was 360 ms). The discrimination of our hearing-impaired subjects was much worse than that of the normal-hearing subjects. For example, speech processed with CR = 10, Ta = 1 ms, and Tr = 10 ms could be distinguished from the noncompressed by only 50% of the impaired subjects.
Masked and Unmasked Pure-Tone Thresholds of Infants and Adults
Authors: Nozza Robert J. , Wilson Wesley R.
Published: July 2014

Detection thresholds for pure tones (1000 Hz and 4000 Hz) in noise and in quiet were estimated for infants at 6 months and 12 months of age and for adults. A visually reinforced head-turn procedure under control of a PDP-11/03 minicomputer was used. An adaptive protocol with a 5-dB step size was employed for the threshold estimates. Infant thresholds were poorer than adult thresholds in each condition. In noise, infant-adult differences were 8 dB (6-month-old infants) and 6 dB (12-month-old infants) at each frequency. In quiet, infant-adult differences were 14 dB (6-month-old infants) and 12 dB (12-month-old infants) at 1000 Hz but were only 7 dB (6-month-old infants) and 5 dB (12-month-old infants) at 4000 Hz. The masking data suggest that infants are at only a slight disadvantage in detecting a target in a background of noise and are consistent with a frequency selectivity mechanism that is proportional to that of adults. The detection-in-quiet data, with greater correspondence among the groups at 4000 Hz than at 1000 Hz, support the notion that hearing sensitivity varies with frequency in a different way in infants than in adults. Data on task performance reveal significant age effects, and the possibility that such effects have biased the observed differences in the estimates of sensory function among the groups is considered.
An Alternate Method for Determining Functional Gain of Hearing Aids
Authors: Rines Diane , Stelmachowicz Patricia G. , Gorga Michael P.
Published: July 2014

The functional gain of a hearing aid typically is determined by comparing aided and unaided behavioral thresholds. With this method, however, true gain may be underestimated in frequency regions of normal or near-normal hearing sensitivity (i.e., in cases of sloping, rising, or trough-shaped audiograms). Internal hearing-aid noise and/or amplified room noise imposes a lower limit on obtainable aided thresholds. In these cases, comparing aided and unaided acoustic-reflex thresholds may be a valuable clinical alternative to traditional means of determining real-ear gain. This study compared sound-field behavioral threshold and acoustic-reflex threshold estimates of functional gain for individuals with a variety of audiometric configurations. The sound-field behavioral threshold measurements were found to underestimate functional gain if unaided thresholds approached the normal hearing range. In regions of greater hearing loss, behavioral and acoustic-reflex estimates of functional gain were in good agreement.
Auditory Implants and Tactile Aids for the Profoundly Deaf
Authors: Pickett J. M. , McFarland William
Published: July 2014

This paper reviews data on speech perception via implanted electrodes and via tactile aids. The two approaches are compared in terms of amount and types of aid provided to communication. Related issues discussed are the performance levels with multi-versus single-channel implants, promontory electrical stimulators versus implants, use of minimal residual hearing, implants for children, and the possible design of complementary systems combining auditory implant and tactile information. The diversity of the test methods and subjects used in implant versus tactile research precludes definitive comparisons of speech perception performance. However, it appears from the available data that, at present and for the foreseeable future, neither approach can provide more than a modest aid to lipreading. Speech reception test results from multichannel-implanted subjects are better, on the average, than for single-channel subjects. However, the best single-channel results are comparable to the best multichannel in tests using simple sentences. There is great variation among subjects with the same implant, Tactile aid performance by highly practiced subjects seems comparable to that of the better implant subjects.
Primary Modality for Speech Perception in Children with Normal and Impaired Hearing
Authors: Seewald Richard C. , Ross Mark , Giolas Thomas G. , Yonovitz A.
Published: July 2014

The relationships between each of seven predictor variables and the relative degree to which 84 normal and hearing-impaired children used audition or vision in their perception of word stimuli were investigated. The children's relative use of audition or vision was assessed by the auditory-visual presentation of monosyllabic word stimuli in which the visual word stimuli were in conflict with those presented acoustically. Six of the seven predictor variables were significantly correlated with the performance scores obtained within the auditory-visual conflict condition. Only pure-tone average hearing level and auditory word identification performance, however, made unique contributions toward predicting the degree to which audition or vision was used in the perception of the word stimuli. We concluded that the relative use of audition or vision was almost completely related to their auditory capabilities as represented by the children's unaided threshold sensitivity and aided speech reception performance.
Prespeech Vocalizations of a Deaf Infant
Authors: Oller D. Kimbrough , Eilers Rebecca E. , Bull Dale H. , Carney Arlene Earley
Published: July 2014

A comparative study of the speech-like vocalizations of a deaf infant and a group of 11 hearing infants was conducted in order to examine the role of auditory experience in the development of the phonological and metaphonological capacity. Results indicated that from 8 to I3 months of age, the deaf subject differed strikingly from hearing infants of comparable age. She produced no repetitive canonical babbling, whereas all the hearing infants produced many canonical syllables. The topography of the deaf infant's vocalizations resembled that of 4–6-month-old (i.e., Expansion stage) hearing infants. Detailed comparisons of the proportion of production of various metaphonologically defined categories by the deaf infant and Expansion stage hearing infants demonstrated many similarities in vocalization, although possible differences were noted. It is concluded that hearing impairment notably affects vocalization development by the end of the first year of life, if not earlier. Spectrographic displays illustrate the categories of infant sounds produced by the deaf and hearing infants.
Phoneme Feature Perception in Noise by Normal-Hearing and Hearing-Impaired Subjects
Authors: Gordon-Salant Sandra
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners perceive phoneme features differently in noise and to determine whether phoneme perception changes as a fuction of signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). Consonant-vowel recognition by normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners was assessed in quiet and in three noise conditions. Analysis of total percent correct recognition scores revealed significant effects of hearing status, S/N, and vowel context. Patterns of phoneme errors were analyzed by INDSCAL, Derived consonant features that accounted for phoneme errors by both subject groups were similar to ones reported by other investigators. However, weightings associated with the individual features varied with changes in noise condition. Although hearing-impaired listeners exhibited poorer overall nonsense syllable recognition scores in noise than normal-hearing listeners, no specific set of features emerged from the multidimensional scaling procedures that could uniquely account for this performance deficit.
Correspondence between an Accelerometric Nasal/Voice Amplitude Ratio and Listeners' Direct Magnitude Estimations of Hypernasality
Authors: Redenbaugh Margaret A. , Reich Alan R.
Published: July 2014

Miniature accelerometers were used to transduce nasal and anterior-neck tissue vibrations of 12 hypernasal and 3 normal children. The accelerometric voltages provided an analog implementation of Horii's (1980) nasal/voice ratio. Simultaneous audio recordings were later evaluated for hypernasality by listeners. Listeners' direct magnitude estimations (DME) of hypernasality were highly correlated with the accelerometric nasal/voice ratio when the stimulus sentences contained obstruents, nonnasal semivowels, and vowels. No correlation existed between DME and accelerometric values when the stimulus sentences contained primarily nasal semivowels and vowels.
Production of Object Words and Action Words
Authors: Camarata Stephen M. , Schwartz Richard G.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this investigation was to examine a potential semantic-phonological interaction in children whose speech was limited to single-word utterances. The action word and object word productions of language-normal and language-impaired children were examined in two experiments. The results of the first revealed that the percentage of consonants produced correctly within the spontaneous speech of both subject groups was higher for object words. The second experiment involved examining the children's productions of unfamiliar object and action words that had been presented over 10 experimental sessions. The findings indicated the production advantage for object words was maintained even when certain input factors were controlled. The greater semantic complexity of action words as compared to object words may account for the difference in production accuracy.
Interruptions as a Variable in Stuttering and Disfluency
Authors: Meyers Susan C. , Freeman Frances J.
Published: July 2014

Parental verbal behavior is often cited as a major precipitating and maintaining factor in the onset and development of stuttering. Parents are frequently counseled to avoid interrupting their stuttering child. The purpose of the present study was to determine (a) whether mothers of preschool stutterers interrupt children's speech more frequently than mothers of nonstutterers, (b) whether stutterers interrupt the speech of mothers more frequently than nonstutterers, and (c) whether there is relationship between interruptive behavior and the occurrence of children's disfluencies. Twenty-four preschool boys (12 stutterers and 12 nonstutterers) and their mothers participated in the study. Ten-min, conversational speech samples of mothers interacting with their own children, unfamiliar stutterers, and unfamiliar nonstutterers were analyzed. Results indicated that mothers of nonstutterers interrupted the disfluent speech of stutterers significantly more often than did mothers of stutterers. Most importantly, all mothers interrupted children's disfluent speech significantly more than they interrupted children's fluent speech. Further, all children demonstrated a tendency to be disfluent when they interrupted a mother.
Conversational Replies of Children with Specific Language Impairment
Authors: Leonard Laurence B.
Published: July 2014

Conversational replies were examined in two groups of children with comparable vocabularies and speech limited to single-word utterances: children with specific language impairment, ages 2:10 to 3:6 (years:months); and children, ages 1:5 to 1:11, who were developing language normally. In interactions with adults the language-impaired children produced a greater number and variety of replies to both questions and statements than the normal-language children. The findings suggest that language-impaired children can serve as responsive conversationalists when syntactic skill is not a factor and that comprehension, world knowledge, and/or experience with conversations permit considerable variability in conversational skill even within the same level of expressive language ability.
Application of ABRS to the Hearing-Aid Selection Process
Authors: Beauchaine Kathryn A. , Gorga Michael P. , Reiland Jan K. , Larson Lori L.
Published: July 2014

This paper describes preliminary data on the use of click-evoked ABRs in the hearing aid selection process. Four normal-hearing and 4 hearing-impaired subjects were tested with a hearing aid set at three different frequency response settings. Estimates of gain were calculated using shifts in Wave V thresholds, shifts in Wave V latency-level functions, acoustic-reflex measurements, coupler gain measurements, and measurements of functional gain. Results suggest that the click-evoked ABR does not distinguish between differing amounts of low-frequency gain, although reasonable estimates of high-frequency gain appear possible. Also discussed are technical factors that must be considered when using the ABR in the hearing aid evaluation process.
Articulation Development in Preschool Children
Authors: Kenney Kathryn W. , Prather Elizabeth M.
Published: July 2014

The purpose of this study was to describe the consistency of productions of /θ, r, l, s, ∫, t∫, f, t, k/ in releasing and arresting position for 2 ½- to 5-year-old children. The Coarticulation Assessment in Meaningful Language (Kenney & Prather, 1984) was given to 360 children, 60 at each of six age levels. A four-way multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures on the last two factors was used to test for main effects and interactions among age, sex, phoneme, and position. These children produced /θ, ∫, t∫, l, f/ with greater accuracy in the releasing position, but articulated /k, s, t/ at similar levels of accuracy in both positions. They produced /r/ with greater accuracy as a vocalic allophone. Further patterns and interactions are discussed.
Acoustic-Reflex Growth for Multitone Complexes
Authors: Block Michael G. , Wiley Terry L.
Published: July 2014

The effects of activator spectral density on the growth characteristics of the acoustic reflex were evaluated in normal-hearing subjects. Reflex-growth dynamics were evaluated for computer-synthesized activators composed of 2 to 50 components and bandwidths wider and more narrow than the reported critical band for loudness summation. Although acoustic-reflex characteristics varied with activator bandwidth, there were no significant differences in reflex-growth patterns as a function of activator density (number of components). The findings suggest that, like loudness summation, growth or magnitude characteristics of the acoustic reflex are unaffected by the spectral density of the signal.
A Signal-to-Noise Ratio Model for the Speech-Reception Threshold of the Hearing Impaired
Authors: Plomp Reinier
Published: July 2014

This paper reviews the results of a series of investigations inspired by a model of the speech-reception threshold (SRT) of hearing-impaired listeners. The model contains two parameters accounting for the SRT of normal-hearing listeners (SRT in quiet and signal-to-noise ratio corresponding to the threshold at high noise levels), two parameters describing the hearing loss (attenuation and threshold elevation in terms of signal-to-noise ratio), and three parameters describing the hearing aid (acoustic gain, threshold elevation expressed in signal-to-noise ratio, and equivalent internal noise level). Experimental data are reported for three different types of hearing impairment: presbycusis, hearing losses with a pathological origin, and noise-induced losses. The model gives an excellent description of the data. It demonstrates that for many hearing-impaired persons speech intelligibility at noise levels beyond 50 to 60 dB(A) is their main problem, whereas hearing aids are most effective below that noise level.
Direct Language Instruction and Interactive Language Instruction with Language Delayed Preschool Children
Authors: Cole Kevin N. , Dale Philip S.
Published: July 2014

Direct language instruction and interactive language instruction are based on highly distinct theoretical positions and incorporate very different behavioral techniques. A purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relative effectiveness of direct and interactive language instruction in promoting a variety of language skills. A second purpose was to determine if an aptitude and treatment interaction influenced the outcome of intervention. Forty-four children of preschool age were randomly assigned to classrooms using either direct instruction or interactive instruction. After 8 months, children in both settings improved significantly and substantially on syntactic and semantic measures. There were no differences between the two groups at posttest, nor were there any significant aptitude by treatment interactions for either cognitive or language pretest measures. The results of this study, and a careful examination of previously reported interactions, suggest that such an interaction has yet to be demonstrated.
Comparison of Hearing-Aid Gain Using Functional, Coupler, and Probe-Tube Measurements
Authors: Mason David , Popelka Gerald R.
Published: July 2014

Measurements of functional gain were compared first to coupler gain for 57 subjects using one of three hearing aid—earmold combinations and second to probe-tube gain for 12 subjects using in-the-ear hearing aids. The average difference between functional and coupler gain plotted as a function of frequency yielded results that were similar to previous reports, with the greatest effects occurring at 3000 and 4000 Hz. Significant differences were seen among hearing aid—earmold combinations at 3000, 4000, and 6000 Hz. Standard deviations for measurements between 750 and 2000 Hz were less than 5 dB and could be explained by variability of functional gain measures associated with test—retest variability of thresholds measured in a sound field. Below 750 Hz and above 2000 Hz, standard deviations exceeded 5 dB. The greater variability may be explained by differences in earmold venting, acoustic characteristics of the ear canal, and stimuli used to measure functional and coupler gain. Neither room nor hearing-aid noise appeared to affect the results significantly. When functional gain was compared to insertion gain measured with a probe-tube system, the average difference across frequencies was less than 1 dB. The variability of the differences at all frequencies, with the exception of 6000 Hz, was within the range reported for functional gain measurements. It was concluded that functional gain can be accurately estimated using probe-tube measurements.