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 21119­122