Bobby Gibbs, Ph.D.
Waisman Center @ 8:30 am - 9:30 am
Learn more about the Hearing and Donuts Seminar Series
Speech contains a signature unique to each talker which is found in the co-occurring changes in frequency and amplitude over time known as spectrotemporal modulations. In a previous study, older listeners with hearing impairment relied on a similar range of spectrotemporal modulations as their peers with typical hearing to "glimpse" target speech in a competing talker background. However, hearing impairment led to greater susceptibility to interference in non-target modulations associated with the competing talker. My lab has generated preliminary data that explores how simulations of altered neural encoding through a cochlear implant affects the utility of spectrotemporal modulations in a competing talker paradigm (coordinate-response measure sentences filtered into different modulation regions or “spectrotemporal bubbles”). The hypothesis is that broadened auditory filters due to increased spread of excitation (manipulated via the vocoder simulation filter slope) leads to poorer utilization of target modulations and increased susceptibility to interference from non-target modulations. Further, we are exploring how spectrotemporal modulation sensitivity in quiet predicts which modulations lead to glimpsing or interference in noise. This work will inform modulation-based source separation algorithms tailored to the unique listening strategies that occur with altered neural encoding.
