Towards ASSR-based hearing assessment using natural sounds

IF 3.7 3区医学 Q2 ENGINEERING, BIOMEDICAL

Journal of neural engineering Pub Date : 2024-04-17 DOI:10.1088/1741-2552/ad3b6b

Anna Sergeeva, Christian Bech Christensen, Preben Kidmose

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective. The auditory steady-state response (ASSR) allows estimation of hearing thresholds. The ASSR can be estimated from electroencephalography (EEG) recordings from electrodes positioned on both the scalp and within the ear (ear-EEG). Ear-EEG can potentially be integrated into hearing aids, which would enable automatic fitting of the hearing device in daily life. The conventional stimuli for ASSR-based hearing assessment, such as pure tones and chirps, are monotonous and tiresome, making them inconvenient for repeated use in everyday situations. In this study we investigate the use of natural speech sounds for ASSR estimation. Approach. EEG was recorded from 22 normal hearing subjects from both scalp and ear electrodes. Subjects were stimulated monaurally with 180 min of speech stimulus modified by applying a 40 Hz amplitude modulation (AM) to an octave frequency sub-band centered at 1 kHz. Each 50 ms sub-interval in the AM sub-band was scaled to match one of 10 pre-defined levels (0–45 dB sensation level, 5 dB steps). The apparent latency for the ASSR was estimated as the maximum average cross-correlation between the envelope of the AM sub-band and the recorded EEG and was used to align the EEG signal with the audio signal. The EEG was then split up into sub-epochs of 50 ms length and sorted according to the stimulation level. ASSR was estimated for each level for both scalp- and ear-EEG. Main results. Significant ASSRs with increasing amplitude as a function of presentation level were recorded from both scalp and ear electrode configurations. Significance. Utilizing natural sounds in ASSR estimation offers the potential for electrophysiological hearing assessment that are more comfortable and less fatiguing compared to existing ASSR methods. Combined with ear-EEG, this approach may allow convenient hearing threshold estimation in everyday life, utilizing ambient sounds. Additionally, it may facilitate both initial fitting and subsequent adjustments of hearing aids outside of clinical settings.

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利用自然声音进行基于 ASSR 的听力评估

目的。听觉稳态反应（ASSR）可用于估算听阈。听觉稳态反应可通过头皮和耳内电极（耳电子脑电图）的脑电图（EEG）记录进行估算。耳部电子脑电图有可能集成到助听器中，从而实现助听器在日常生活中的自动装配。用于基于 ASSR 的听力评估的传统刺激（如纯音和鸣叫）单调乏味，不便在日常生活中反复使用。在本研究中，我们研究了使用自然语音进行 ASSR 估算的方法。研究方法对 22 名听力正常的受试者的头皮和耳部电极进行脑电图记录。对受试者进行 180 分钟的单声道语音刺激，并对以 1 kHz 为中心的倍频程频率子带进行 40 Hz 的调幅（AM）。调幅子带中每个 50 毫秒的子区间都按比例调整，以匹配 10 个预定义电平（0-45 dB 感觉电平，5 dB 为一）中的一个电平。ASSR 的表观潜伏期是根据调幅子带包络和记录的脑电图之间的最大平均交叉相关性估算的，用于对齐脑电图信号和音频信号。然后将脑电图分割成 50 毫秒长度的子时序，并根据刺激水平进行分类。对头皮脑电图和耳部脑电图的每个级别进行 ASSR 估算。主要结果。头皮和耳部电极配置均记录到显著的 ASSR，其振幅随刺激水平的增加而增加。意义重大。在 ASSR 估算中利用自然声音为电生理听力评估提供了可能性，与现有的 ASSR 方法相比，这种方法更舒适，疲劳程度更低。这种方法与耳电子脑电图相结合，可以在日常生活中利用环境声音方便地进行听力阈值评估。此外，它还能在临床环境之外为助听器的初次验配和后续调整提供便利。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of neural engineering 工程技术-工程：生物医学

CiteScore

7.80

自引率

12.50%

发文量

319

审稿时长

4.2 months

期刊介绍： The goal of Journal of Neural Engineering (JNE) is to act as a forum for the interdisciplinary field of neural engineering where neuroscientists, neurobiologists and engineers can publish their work in one periodical that bridges the gap between neuroscience and engineering. The journal publishes articles in the field of neural engineering at the molecular, cellular and systems levels. The scope of the journal encompasses experimental, computational, theoretical, clinical and applied aspects of: Innovative neurotechnology; Brain-machine (computer) interface; Neural interfacing; Bioelectronic medicines; Neuromodulation; Neural prostheses; Neural control; Neuro-rehabilitation; Neurorobotics; Optical neural engineering; Neural circuits: artificial & biological; Neuromorphic engineering; Neural tissue regeneration; Neural signal processing; Theoretical and computational neuroscience; Systems neuroscience; Translational neuroscience; Neuroimaging.