Pulse TIG welding: Process, Automation and Control

Abstract

Speech perception in the presence of another competing voice is oneof the most challenging tasks for cochlear implant users. Severalstudies have shown that (1) the fundamental frequency (F0) is a usefulcue for segregating competing speech sounds and (2) the F0 is betterrepresented by the temporal fine structure than by the temporal envelope.However, current cochlear implant speech processing algorithms emphasizetemporal envelope information and discard the temporal fine structure.In this study, speech recognition was measured as a function of theF0 separation of the target and competing sentence in normal-hearingand cochlear implant listeners. For the normal-hearing listeners,the combined sentences were processed through either a standard implantsimulation or a new algorithm which additionally extracts a slowed-downversion of the temporal fine structure (called Frequency-Amplitude-Modulation-Encoding).The results showed no benefit of increasing F0 separation for thecochlear implant or simulation groups. In contrast, the new algorithmresulted in gradual improvements with increasing F0 separation, similarto that found with unprocessed sentences. These results emphasizethe importance of temporal fine structure for speech perception anddemonstrate a potential remedy for difficulty in the perceptual segregationof competing speech sounds.