Armstrong, AG;
Lam, CC;
Sabesan, S;
Lesica, NA;
(2021)
Compression and amplification algorithms in hearing aids impair the selectivity of neural responses to speech.
Nature Biomedical Engineering
10.1038/s41551-021-00707-y.
(In press).
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Abstract
In quiet environments, hearing aids improve the perception of low-intensity sounds. However, for high-intensity sounds in background noise, the aids often fail to provide a benefit to the wearer. Here, using large-scale single-neuron recordings from hearing-impaired gerbils—an established animal model of human hearing—we show that hearing aids restore the sensitivity of neural responses to speech, but not their selectivity. Rather than reflecting a deficit in supra-threshold auditory processing, the low selectivity is a consequence of hearing-aid compression (which decreases the spectral and temporal contrasts of incoming sound) and amplification (which distorts neural responses, regardless of whether hearing is impaired). Processing strategies that avoid the trade-off between neural sensitivity and selectivity should improve the performance of hearing aids.
Type: | Article |
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Title: | Compression and amplification algorithms in hearing aids impair the selectivity of neural responses to speech |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41551-021-00707-y |
Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-021-00707-y |
Language: | English |
Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > The Ear Institute |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10127805 |
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