Haptic sound-localisation for use in cochlear implant and hearing-aid users
Haptic sound-localisation for use in cochlear implant and hearing-aid users
Users of hearing-assistive devices often struggle to locate and segregate sounds, which can make listening in schools, cafes, and busy workplaces extremely challenging. A recent study in unilaterally implanted CI users showed that sound-localisation was improved when the audio received by behind-the-ear devices was converted to haptic stimulation on each wrist. We built on this work, using a new signal-processing approach to improve localisation accuracy and increase generalisability to a wide range of stimuli. We aimed to: (1) improve haptic sound-localisation accuracy using a varied stimulus set and (2) assess whether accuracy improved with prolonged training. Thirty-two adults with normal touch perception were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. The experimental group completed a 5-h training regime and the control group were not trained. Without training, haptic sound-localisation was substantially better than in previous work on haptic sound-localisation. It was also markedly better than sound-localisation by either unilaterally or bilaterally implanted CI users. After training, accuracy improved, becoming better than for sound-localisation by bilateral hearing-aid users. These findings suggest that a wrist-worn haptic device could be effective for improving spatial hearing for a range of hearing-impaired listeners.
Fletcher, Mark
ac11588a-fafe-4dbb-8b3c-80a6ff030546
Zgheib, Jana
3bdf6c36-e556-42b7-a329-a7532b1c727d
25 August 2020
Fletcher, Mark
ac11588a-fafe-4dbb-8b3c-80a6ff030546
Zgheib, Jana
3bdf6c36-e556-42b7-a329-a7532b1c727d
Fletcher, Mark and Zgheib, Jana
(2020)
Haptic sound-localisation for use in cochlear implant and hearing-aid users.
Scientific Reports, 10 (1), [14171].
(doi:10.1038/s41598-020-70379-2).
Abstract
Users of hearing-assistive devices often struggle to locate and segregate sounds, which can make listening in schools, cafes, and busy workplaces extremely challenging. A recent study in unilaterally implanted CI users showed that sound-localisation was improved when the audio received by behind-the-ear devices was converted to haptic stimulation on each wrist. We built on this work, using a new signal-processing approach to improve localisation accuracy and increase generalisability to a wide range of stimuli. We aimed to: (1) improve haptic sound-localisation accuracy using a varied stimulus set and (2) assess whether accuracy improved with prolonged training. Thirty-two adults with normal touch perception were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. The experimental group completed a 5-h training regime and the control group were not trained. Without training, haptic sound-localisation was substantially better than in previous work on haptic sound-localisation. It was also markedly better than sound-localisation by either unilaterally or bilaterally implanted CI users. After training, accuracy improved, becoming better than for sound-localisation by bilateral hearing-aid users. These findings suggest that a wrist-worn haptic device could be effective for improving spatial hearing for a range of hearing-impaired listeners.
Text
Fletcher et al 2020 Accepted Manuscript
- Accepted Manuscript
Text
s41598-020-70379-2
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More information
Accepted/In Press date: 29 July 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 25 August 2020
Published date: 25 August 2020
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
Thank you to Carl Verschuur for his consistent support with this project and to Samuel Winston Perry for numerous insightful discussions during the design and implementation of the experiment. Thank you also to Joe Sollini and Titty Wells for helpful feedback on the text, and to Alex Fletcher and Helen Fletcher for their support and patience during the writing of this manuscript. Salary support for author MDF was provided by The Oticon Foundation and salary support for author JZ was provided by Oticon Medical.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, The Author(s).
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 443003
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/443003
ISSN: 2045-2322
PURE UUID: 01261b47-68cd-44eb-9cf9-883d4d99e5a7
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Date deposited: 05 Aug 2020 16:35
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 05:47
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Jana Zgheib
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