Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 4, 2026

Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
On enhancement of spectral contrast in speech for hearing-impaired listeners
1Applied Science and Engineering Laboratories, Alfred I. duPont Institute, Wilmington, Delaware 19899.
Abstract:
A digital processing method is described for altering spectral contrast (the difference in amplitude between spectral peaks and valleys) in natural utterances. Speech processed with programs implementing the contrast alteration procedure was presented to listeners with moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. The task was a three alternative (/b/,/d/, or /g/) stop consonant identification task for consonants at a fixed location in short nonsense utterances. Overall, tokens with enhanced contrast showed moderate gains in percentage correct stop consonant identification when compared to unaltered tokens. Conversely, reducing spectral contrast generally reduced percent correct stop consonant identification. Contrast alteration effects were inconsistent for utterances containing /d/. The observed contrast effects also interacted with token intelligibility.
Related Concept Videos
Hearing
The Cochlea
Sound Intensity Level
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and hence a...
Auditory Pathway
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
Auditory Perception
Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...

