Hearing Prosthesis Frequency Mapping for Speech Prosody
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Solution Overview
Problem
Individuals with hearing loss face challenges in perceiving sounds outside their range of pitch frequencies, particularly with voiced speech, due to limitations in their ability to perceive certain frequencies, which affects speech prosody and tonal language recognition.
Innovation Solution
A hearing prosthesis system that includes a sound processor capable of processing audio signals by mapping fundamental frequencies to modulation frequencies within the user's perceivable range, modulating spectral components based on detected amplitude peaks, and generating stimulation signals during gate-on periods to enhance speech perception.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the hearing prosthesis processes audio signals using conventional methods, then the device complexity is reduced, but the recipient's ability to perceive speech prosody and tonality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by mapping fundamental frequencies to modulation frequencies that fall within the recipient's perceivable pitch range. The system dynamically adjusts frequency parameters based on the recipient's hearing capabilities, transforming audio signals so that spectral components are modulated at frequencies the recipient can perceive, thereby improving speech prosody and tonality recognition without requiring overly complex processing hardware
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses an intermediary mapping function that acts as a mediator between the original audio signal and the recipient's perception system. This mapping function translates fundamental frequencies outside the perceivable range into equivalent modulation frequencies within the range, serving as a bridge that enables the recipient to perceive speech characteristics that would otherwise be inaccessible
2Loss of information
If the hearing prosthesis modulates spectral components at high frequencies, then the speech information is preserved, but the recipient's pitch perception capability is exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically changes the frequency parameters of spectral components by mapping them to modulation frequencies within the recipient's pitch perception range. This ensures that speech information is preserved while the modulated frequencies remain within the recipient's capable range, preventing information loss without exceeding perception capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamic frequency mapping that adapts to the recipient's hearing characteristics and the input audio signal. The mapping function adjusts in real-time to optimize the transformation of spectral components, ensuring continuous preservation of speech information while maintaining frequencies within the recipient's perceivable range
3Productivity
If the hearing prosthesis uses simple frequency mapping, then the processing speed is increased, but the speech prosody perception is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mapping function that serves as an efficient mediator between the audio signal and the recipient's perception system. This mapping function is designed to be computationally efficient while effectively translating spectral components, enabling fast processing speeds without degrading speech prosody perception through simplified yet accurate frequency transformation
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and devices for processing an audio signal are provided. An example method includes mapping a fundamental frequency of an audio signal to a modulation frequency. An output of the mapping is less than the fundamental frequency when the fundamental frequency is greater than an intersection frequency. The intersection frequency is a frequency at which the output of the mapping is the fundamental frequency.