Auditory Perception Engineering Lab

The University of Texas at Dallas

Abstract

The Auditory Perception Engineering Laboratory (APEL) investigates the individualization of auditory perception in real‐ life spatial environments, and engineers towards a closed‐loop hearing device for normal hearing and hearing impaired listeners to achieve beneficial outcome via adaptation with biophysical feedback. The APEL adopts approaches include Psychoacoustics & Psycholinguistics, Speech Perception & Production, Auditory & Cognitive Neuroscience, Assistive Hearing Devices (Cochlear Implant, Hearing Aid, & Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) and Signal Processing, Brain Control Interface for longitudinal and acute studies.

Facilities

The Auditory Perception Engineering Laboratory consist of two locations:
1) Auditory Perception Laboratory is located in Callier Center for Communication Disorders, School of Brain Behavioral Sciences.
2) Auditory Engineering Laboratory is located in Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science. Both labs are equipped a double‐walled sound attenuating booth with directional speaker array (arranged over 360°/180°), audiometry, EEG systems, and various necessary audiological systems and acoustic equipment for auditory related data collection.

8+
Researchers

5+
Projects

20+
Clients

150+
Meetings

Current Research

Case 1: A real‐time platform for behavioral and physiological study the underlying mechanism of both normal hearing and hearing impaired (aided or unaided) listener in perceiving speech in a real‐life spatial environment.
We are developing the platform to implement different psychophysical, speech perception and behavioral experiments to study spatial speech perception & localization in a control sound environment. The platform also includes a 64‐channel EEG system to capture the associated cortical response to the behavioral experiment. A head movement detection camera system was integrated with platform to monitor the participant movement. Currently, the main experiment running on the platform focuses on the streaming of a target speaker from a multiple speaker conversation using cortical responses (captured by EEG) in attending to the target speaker. The study also aims to disentangle the cognitive function, attention and hearing impairment involved performing this task.

Case 2: Perception and production of speech by hearing impaired listeners.
In this study, we attempt to establish the relationship between speech perception and production for both normal hearing and hearing impaired listener to derive a metric to measure the amount of ‘useful’ auditory feedback necessary to facilitate listener to function in daily communication. Currently, the main experiment focuses on acoustic analysis of speech produced by hearing impaired talker and investigates how normal hearing listener perceive the speech. We are establish this relationship at phonemic/psycholinguistic level based on the motor theory of speech production. The emphasis of the experiment aims to focus on hearing‐impaired listeners aided with cochlear implant users, where their hearing sensation was partially restored with electrical stimulation on the auditory nerve, which is different from the natural peripheral auditory system. Cortical responses of the normal hearing listener are captured when listening to the speech. Hearing impaired listener will be asked to listener to their own speech.

Case 3: An integrated behavioral and physiological metric to study the adaptation process of hearing impaired patients to their devices.
All listeners will need time and repeated auditory exposures before their auditory brain could adapts auditory input, especially a reproduction comes from a new audio device or listening scenario. There is neuroplasticity in our auditory brain but the efficiency of adapting to new sound may deteriorate over age and vary with different listener. Likewise with assistive hearing devices, hearing impaired listener are listening to impoverished representation of sound which makes the adaptation process more difficult, especially in a complex spatial environments. In thisstudy, we examine the spatialspeech perception and interaural pitch matching with listeners of asymmetric hearing loss and monitor their performance at different length of device(s) use. Assistive hearing devices separately prescribed for each ear. They can be stimulating the ear acoustically or electrically. Currently, we have established an integrated behavioral and physiological metric, which perceptually quantifies matched/mismatched in interaural pitch, to monitor the adaptation of listeners to their devices. We are working on the cortical entrainment of spatial speech perception as a physiological metric to monitor the adaptation process for better perceived speech in a spatial environment.

Case 4: Development of signal processing model for improving the performance of assistive hearing devices in spatial speech perception.
We are developing a simplified presentation of speech using sinusoidal analysis/synthesis model for the plausibility of establishing a new speech processing strategy in cochlear implant system. We conducting speech perception experiments and recording neurophysiological responses from cochlear implant users. We are developing a binaural dynamic compression strategy in hearing aid, cochlear implant and combination for better spatial speech perception by listener with asymmetrical hearing loss.

Case 5: Development of a portable system to monitor soundscape and corresponding cortical response to study the relationship between the daily soundscape exposure and Dementia/Alzheimer.
The aim of this study is to establish the relationship between the amount of ‘useful’ auditory experience (aided or unaided) and hearing loss with cognitive decline, possibly predicts the possibility of dementia and how quickly it progresses as Alzheimer. Hearing impairment (HI) alters auditory processing at all ages, which reflect in both their neural and behavioral processing of speech in real‐life environments. When age‐related changes set in, spatial speech perception/understanding, particularly in noise, typically deteriorates throughout adult life in a compounding manner. This may deter their willingness to interact socially and possibly lead to the development of Dementia/Alzheimer. We are also developing our portable EEG recorder and soundscape data logger for long‐ hour recording.

Researchers

Dr. Chin-Tuan Tan

Associate Professor at Electrical Engineering Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science & School of Behavorial and Brain Sciences (Speech & Hearing)

Dr. Chin-Tuan Tan joined the Electrical Engineering department at UT Dallas in August 2016. Prior to joining UT Dallas, he was Assistant Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology, New York University and, an Adjunct Associate Professor in the ECE Department at Polytechnic Institute of NYU. From 2000 to 2004, he was a Research Associate under Auditory Perception Group in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge (UK). Thereafter, he was invited as a Visiting Scientist to the School of Information Science in JAIST(Japan) between 2004 and 2005.

Dr. Sung Min Lee

Post-doctoral research associate

Dr. Sungmin Lee joined Auditory Perception Engineering Lab (APEL) at the University of Texas at Dallas in 2018. He received a bachelors and a masters degree in Audiology at Hallym University in South Korea and gained experience as a researcher and a clinical audiologist. During his PhD program in Audiology at the University of Memphis, he was involved in several research projects focusing on improving speech perception for cochlear implant users.

Contact

Room 4.414 ECSN
Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science
800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, TX 75080, USA

Phone: +1 972-883-4238

Email: chin-tuan.tan@utdallas.edu

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