TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of hearing aid amplification on voice F0 variability in speakers with prelingual hearing loss
AU - Lee, Guo She
AU - Liu, Chialin
AU - Lee, Shao Hsuan
N1 - Funding Information:
There was no conflict of interest to disclose in this work. This study was supported by the grant from National Science Council, Taiwan ( NSC 101-2314-B-010-022 ).
PY - 2013/8
Y1 - 2013/8
N2 - To investigate the audio-vocal feedback responses of (F0) to hearing amplification in severe-to-profound prelingual hearing loss (SPHL) using power spectral analysis of F0 contour of sustained vowels. Sustained phonations of vowel/a/of seventeen participants with SPHL were acquired with and without hearing-aid amplifications. The vocal intensity was visually fed back to the participants to help controlling the vocal intensity at 65-75dBA and 85-95dBA. The F0 contour of the phonations was extracted and submitted to spectral analysis to measure the extent of F0 fluctuations at different frequency ranges. The results showed that both high vocal intensity and hearing-aid amplification significantly improved voice F0 control by reducing the low-frequency fluctuations (low-frequency power, LFP, 0.2-3Hz) in F0 spectrum. However, the enhanced feedback from higher vocal intensity and/or hearing amplification was not adequate to reduce the LFP to the level of a normal hearing person. Moreover, we found significant and negative correlations between LFP and supra-threshold feedback intensity (phonation intensity - hearing threshold level) for the frequencies of 500-2000Hz. Increased vocal intensity, as well as hearing-aid amplification, improved voice F0 control by reducing the LFP of F0 spectrum, and the subtle changes in voices could be well explored using spectral analysis of F0.
AB - To investigate the audio-vocal feedback responses of (F0) to hearing amplification in severe-to-profound prelingual hearing loss (SPHL) using power spectral analysis of F0 contour of sustained vowels. Sustained phonations of vowel/a/of seventeen participants with SPHL were acquired with and without hearing-aid amplifications. The vocal intensity was visually fed back to the participants to help controlling the vocal intensity at 65-75dBA and 85-95dBA. The F0 contour of the phonations was extracted and submitted to spectral analysis to measure the extent of F0 fluctuations at different frequency ranges. The results showed that both high vocal intensity and hearing-aid amplification significantly improved voice F0 control by reducing the low-frequency fluctuations (low-frequency power, LFP, 0.2-3Hz) in F0 spectrum. However, the enhanced feedback from higher vocal intensity and/or hearing amplification was not adequate to reduce the LFP to the level of a normal hearing person. Moreover, we found significant and negative correlations between LFP and supra-threshold feedback intensity (phonation intensity - hearing threshold level) for the frequencies of 500-2000Hz. Increased vocal intensity, as well as hearing-aid amplification, improved voice F0 control by reducing the LFP of F0 spectrum, and the subtle changes in voices could be well explored using spectral analysis of F0.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84878172290&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.heares.2013.04.010
DO - 10.1016/j.heares.2013.04.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 23648550
AN - SCOPUS:84878172290
SN - 0378-5955
VL - 302
SP - 1
EP - 8
JO - Hearing Research
JF - Hearing Research
ER -