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Signal Conditioning Communication Aids for the Hearing Impaired

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SICONA will deliver a technical aid that compensates for severe hearing losses better than conventional equipment, especially in noise-disturbed environments.

The target group for SICONA are hard-of-hearing people with severe sensory deficits (losses of around 70 to 90 dB compared to normal hearing) that often lead to major communication problems and even social isolation. Existing hearing aids are of little assistance to these persons especially in noise-disturbed everyday and business situations. The SICONA communication aid will close the gap in rehabilitation technology by delivering an aid of acceptable size equipped with processing that improves speech intelligibility. Improved speech intelligibility is achieved by special processing that emphasises speech elements that are not clearly perceived by severely hearing impaired persons and offers replacement sounds for the often inaudible 's'-sounds.

Furthermore, the SICONA communication aid allows speech communication in noise-disturbed situations. SICONA's approach makes use of lip microphones combined with an enhanced voice-switching circuit to achieve a high degree of noise reduction. The microphones (worn by non-impaired conversation partners) are supplied with FM-transmitters to establish wireless connections to the FM-receiver which is worn by the hearing impaired person and also contains the signal processing unit. The processed speech signal is transferred via wireless inductive coupling to small ASIC-receivers that are mounted on conventional behind-the-ear aids for the hearing impaired user.

The system allows up to three persons to be heard by the hearing-impaired user at the same time (via 3 different FM-channels simultaneously), to meet the requirements of normal discussions. The number of discussion partners can be increased arbitrarily, with the restriction that only 3 speakers may talk at the same time.

The system will also help hearing-impaired persons to improve control of their articulation: First, by transforming the usually inaudible 's'-sounds into an audible replacement sound; second, by providing the possibility to perceive context-related information from contrastive stress and pitch variations which are presented via tactile sensation.

The communication aid uniquely combines several validated technologies in a synergetic way. Despite its complexity it will be integrated into small, wearable pocket devices. The wireless connections between the components make the system, acceptable, reliable and suitable for everyday life.

Technical Approach : The SICONA communication aid has the following characteristics:

1. Support of group-discussion situations by introducing FM-multichannel-parallel-speech-signal transmission from several speakers to the hearing impaired. An improved reduction of environmental noise is achieved by lip-microphones that can be adjusted to minimise the distance between mouth and microphone. Interferences that are often introduced by ill-switching voice circuits are avoided by an enhanced voice-switching method. Continuous high level load to the ears by continuous noise (traffic, office machinery etc.) is reduced by a special noise-sensing circuit, which controls the level of the audio signal.

2. Increase of speech intelligibility by modular signal processing that provides for:

- Plosive enhancement
- 2nd Formant enhancement
- Reduction of masking effects
- Transposition of 's'-fricatives

3. SICONA offers the possibility to use the tactile channel for transmitting suprasegmental speech information (pitch, contrastive stress) by the application of somatosensory stimulation on the forearm (wireless coupled to the pocket-unit).

4. Maximisation of user-acceptance

a) by using wireless transmission between all components of the communication aid (i.e. BTE-aids, external sources and tactile stimulator on the forearm) and
b) by minimising size and weight of the components (pocket devices and ear receiver).

Impact and Expected Results : SICONA will deliver wearable pre-industrial prototypes of a new kind of communication aid that improves the conditions for speech communication for the severely hearing impaired. The prototypes will be used in field trials with hearing-impaired subjects and serve as a basis for further developments of the communication aid and other related rehabilitation technologies.

It is expected that SICONA as a final product will have a major impact on the social integration of the severely hearing impaired for whom conventional hearing aids do not restore speech intelligibility to an appropriate level. It will be an essential help in educational and business life and represents an non-invasive alternative to cochlear implants.

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Finanzierungsplan

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Koordinator

Universität Dortmund
EU-Beitrag
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Adresse
Ardeystraße 67
44139 Dortmund
Deutschland

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Letzte Aktualisierung: 31 August 1995

Mein Booklet

Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/1090/de

European Union, 2024