A model that predicts the binaural advantage to speech intelligibility from the mixed target and interferer signals

J Acoust Soc Am. 2014 Feb;135(2):796-807. doi: 10.1121/1.4861239.

Abstract

A model is presented that predicts the binaural advantage to speech intelligibility by analyzing the right and left recordings at the two ears containing mixed target and interferer signals. This auditory-inspired model implements an equalization-cancellation stage to predict the binaural unmasking (BU) component, in conjunction with a modulation-frequency estimation block to estimate the "better ear" effect (BE) component of the binaural advantage. The model's performance was compared to experimental data obtained under anechoic and reverberant conditions using a single speech-shaped noise interferer paradigm. The internal BU and BE components were compared to those of the speech intelligibility model recently proposed by Lavandier et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 131, 218-231 (2012)], which requires separate inputs for target and interferer. The data indicate that the proposed model provides comparably good predictions from a mixed-signals input under both anechoic and reverberant conditions.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • Ear / physiology*
  • Hearing*
  • Humans
  • Models, Psychological*
  • Noise / adverse effects*
  • Perceptual Masking*
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Speech Intelligibility*
  • Speech Perception*
  • Speech Reception Threshold Test
  • Vibration