title: The effect of visual information in speech signals by bone-conducted ultrasound.
abstract: A prototype for a bone-conducted ultrasonic hearing aid was developed for the profoundly deaf. Previous studies using bone-conducted ultrasonic hearing aid revealed intelligibility only with the use of acoustic media in transmitting language information. In this study, we investigated the effects of visual information (lip-reading information) on intelligibility in bone-conducted ultrasound perception of normal-hearing individuals. We found that lip-reading information had clear effects on bone-conducted ultrasound perception, showing that simultaneous presentation of audio and visual information improved intelligibility to levels sufficient for speech perception. Our findings also suggested the efficacy of use of signal processing techniques in improving the intelligibility of prior consonants. NeuroReport 21:119–122
authors: Department of Otolaryngology, Nara Medical University, 840 Shijo-cho, Kashihara Nara 634-8522, Japan. akinori@naramed-u.ac.jp
authors: Akinori
authors: A
authors: Yamashita
authors: Tadashi
authors: T
authors: Nishimura
authors: Yoshiki
authors: Y
authors: Nagatani
authors: Takefumi
authors: T
authors: Sakaguchi
authors: Tadao
authors: T
authors: Okayasu
authors: Shuichi
authors: S
authors: Yanai
authors: Hiroshi
authors: H
authors: Hosoi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003638:Deafness; D005260:Female; D006309:Hearing; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006801:Humans; D008085:Lipreading; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D014465:Ultrasonics; D014796:Visual Perception; D055815:Young Adult