Effects of distorting auditory feedback on acoustic manifestations of phonetic targets in children and adults are investigated. Experiment 1 measures speech degradation in an 11-year-old following sudden-onset deafness caused by cochlear implant failure. Experiment 2 measures speech changes over a year, consequent to multichannel electrical stimulation, in the same subject, and in two postlingually and two prelingually deafened children, and a postlingually deafened adult. Experiment 3 replicates and extends measures of speech changes in normal-hearing adults during wideband noise-masked auditory feedback. Experiment 4 high-pass filters the noise and narrow-band masks it in the regions of the fundamental and first, second, and third formant frequencies. Experiment 5 band-pass filters auditory feedback in the same frequency ranges as the masks of Experiment 4. Experiment 6 replicates Experiments 3 - 5 in normally-hearing children, to determine if responses to auditory feedback distortion change developmentally in the normally-hearing children, to determine if responses to auditory feedback distortion change developmentally in the normally- hearing. The results will address: 1) the existence of a critical period for speech production; 2) the effects of loss and distortion of auditory feedback on speech production; 3) the link between perception and production in acquiring speech; 4) the normal range of values for phonetic features in noisy environments; 5) how various cochlear implants affect the speech of their users with consequences for patient disposition; and 6) rehabilitation of the profoundly deaf with specific recommendations for speech therapies for cochlear implant candidates and users.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01DC001250-01
Application #
3217952
Study Section
Sensory Disorders and Language Study Section (CMS)
Project Start
1991-07-01
Project End
1994-06-30
Budget Start
1991-07-01
Budget End
1992-06-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1991
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
City College of New York
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
603503991
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10031
Kanick, Stephen Chad; Doyle, William J (2005) Barotrauma during air travel: predictions of a mathematical model. J Appl Physiol 98:1592-602
Tartter, V C; Braun, D (1994) Hearing smiles and frowns in normal and whisper registers. J Acoust Soc Am 96:2101-7
Tartter, V C; Gomes, H; Litwin, E (1993) Some acoustic effects of listening to noise on speech production. J Acoust Soc Am 94:2437-40
Economou, A; Tartter, V C; Chute, P M et al. (1992) Speech changes following reimplantation from a single-channel to a multichannel cochlear implant. J Acoust Soc Am 92:1310-23
Tartter, V C; Hellman, S A; Chute, P M (1992) Vowel perception strategies of normal-hearing subjects and patients using Nucleus multichannel and 3M/House cochlear implants. J Acoust Soc Am 92:1269-83