用ASR模拟听力损失,精准识别老年性耳聋的语音感知缺陷。
Advancing Hearing Assessment: An ASR-Based Frequency-Specific Speech Test for Diagnosing Presbycusis
- 基于ASR模拟中度斜坡型听力损失,分析语音在频段上的混淆模式。
- 发现高频辅音易被误听或缺失,与老年性耳聋的声学特征一致。
- 可为临床提供客观、精细的听力诊断工具,适合听觉研究者使用。
传统听力测试难以全面反映听力损失对语音理解的功能影响,尤其在老年性耳聋等情况下存在的超阈值缺陷和频率特异性感知挑战。本文提出一种基于自动语音识别(ASR)的频率特异性语音测试方法,通过在受控声学退化条件下处理语音信号,模拟中度斜坡型听力损失,并分析音素层面的混淆模式。结果表明,模拟听力损失导致特定音素混淆,主要影响高频辅音(如齿龈/腭音被误听为唇齿音),并引发显著音素缺失,与老年性耳聋中受损的声学线索一致。基于这些ASR生成的混淆模式构建的测试组合,在模拟实验中有效区分了正常听力与听力受损人群。该方法为开发客观、细粒度、频率敏感的听力评估工具提供了新路径,未来将通过真人验证并探索先进AI模型提升诊断精度。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Traditional audiometry often fails to fully characterize the functional impact of hearing loss on speech understanding, particularly supra-threshold deficits and frequency-specific perception challenges in conditions like presbycusis. This paper presents the development and simulated evaluation of a novel Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)-based frequency-specific speech test designed to provide granular diagnostic insights. Our approach leverages ASR to simulate the perceptual effects of moderate sloping hearing loss by processing speech stimuli under controlled acoustic degradation and subsequently analyzing phoneme-level confusion patterns. Key findings indicate that simulated hearing loss introduces specific phoneme confusions, predominantly affecting high-frequency consonants (e.g., alveolar/palatal to labiodental substitutions) and leading to significant phoneme deletions, consistent with the acoustic cues degraded in presbycusis. A test battery curated from these ASR-derived confusions demonstrated diagnostic value, effectively differentiating between simulated normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners in a comprehensive simulation. This ASR-driven methodology offers a promising avenue for developing objective, granular, and frequency-specific hearing assessment tools that complement traditional audiometry. Future work will focus on validating these findings with human participants and exploring the integration of advanced AI models for enhanced diagnostic precision.
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