TY - JOUR
T1 - Towards ASSR-based hearing assessment using natural sounds
AU - Sergeeva, Anna
AU - Christensen, Christian Bech
AU - Kidmose, Preben
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd
PY - 2024/4/1
Y1 - 2024/4/1
N2 - Objective. The auditory steady-state response (ASSR) allows estimation of hearing thresholds. The ASSR can be estimated from electroencephalography (EEG) recordings from electrodes positioned on both the scalp and within the ear (ear-EEG). Ear-EEG can potentially be integrated into hearing aids, which would enable automatic fitting of the hearing device in daily life. The conventional stimuli for ASSR-based hearing assessment, such as pure tones and chirps, are monotonous and tiresome, making them inconvenient for repeated use in everyday situations. In this study we investigate the use of natural speech sounds for ASSR estimation. Approach. EEG was recorded from 22 normal hearing subjects from both scalp and ear electrodes. Subjects were stimulated monaurally with 180 min of speech stimulus modified by applying a 40 Hz amplitude modulation (AM) to an octave frequency sub-band centered at 1 kHz. Each 50 ms sub-interval in the AM sub-band was scaled to match one of 10 pre-defined levels (0-45 dB sensation level, 5 dB steps). The apparent latency for the ASSR was estimated as the maximum average cross-correlation between the envelope of the AM sub-band and the recorded EEG and was used to align the EEG signal with the audio signal. The EEG was then split up into sub-epochs of 50 ms length and sorted according to the stimulation level. ASSR was estimated for each level for both scalp- and ear-EEG. Main results. Significant ASSRs with increasing amplitude as a function of presentation level were recorded from both scalp and ear electrode configurations. Significance. Utilizing natural sounds in ASSR estimation offers the potential for electrophysiological hearing assessment that are more comfortable and less fatiguing compared to existing ASSR methods. Combined with ear-EEG, this approach may allow convenient hearing threshold estimation in everyday life, utilizing ambient sounds. Additionally, it may facilitate both initial fitting and subsequent adjustments of hearing aids outside of clinical settings.
AB - Objective. The auditory steady-state response (ASSR) allows estimation of hearing thresholds. The ASSR can be estimated from electroencephalography (EEG) recordings from electrodes positioned on both the scalp and within the ear (ear-EEG). Ear-EEG can potentially be integrated into hearing aids, which would enable automatic fitting of the hearing device in daily life. The conventional stimuli for ASSR-based hearing assessment, such as pure tones and chirps, are monotonous and tiresome, making them inconvenient for repeated use in everyday situations. In this study we investigate the use of natural speech sounds for ASSR estimation. Approach. EEG was recorded from 22 normal hearing subjects from both scalp and ear electrodes. Subjects were stimulated monaurally with 180 min of speech stimulus modified by applying a 40 Hz amplitude modulation (AM) to an octave frequency sub-band centered at 1 kHz. Each 50 ms sub-interval in the AM sub-band was scaled to match one of 10 pre-defined levels (0-45 dB sensation level, 5 dB steps). The apparent latency for the ASSR was estimated as the maximum average cross-correlation between the envelope of the AM sub-band and the recorded EEG and was used to align the EEG signal with the audio signal. The EEG was then split up into sub-epochs of 50 ms length and sorted according to the stimulation level. ASSR was estimated for each level for both scalp- and ear-EEG. Main results. Significant ASSRs with increasing amplitude as a function of presentation level were recorded from both scalp and ear electrode configurations. Significance. Utilizing natural sounds in ASSR estimation offers the potential for electrophysiological hearing assessment that are more comfortable and less fatiguing compared to existing ASSR methods. Combined with ear-EEG, this approach may allow convenient hearing threshold estimation in everyday life, utilizing ambient sounds. Additionally, it may facilitate both initial fitting and subsequent adjustments of hearing aids outside of clinical settings.
KW - ASSR
KW - ear-EEG
KW - electroencephalography
KW - hearing assessment
KW - Auditory Threshold/physiology
KW - Hearing
KW - Electroencephalography/methods
KW - Humans
KW - Acoustic Stimulation/methods
KW - Sound
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85190748591&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1741-2552/ad3b6b
DO - 10.1088/1741-2552/ad3b6b
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 38579741
AN - SCOPUS:85190748591
SN - 1741-2560
VL - 21
JO - Journal of Neural Engineering
JF - Journal of Neural Engineering
IS - 2
M1 - 026045
ER -