Computer models of the auditory periphery provide a tool for formulating theories concerning the relationship between the physiology of the auditory system and the perception of sounds both in normal and impaired hearing. However, the time-consuming nature of their construction constitutes a major impediment to their use, and it is important that transparent models be available on an 'off-the-shelf' basis to researchers. The MATLAB Auditory Periphery (MAP) model aims to meet these requirements and be freely available. The model can be used to simulate simple psychophysical tasks such as absolute threshold, pitch matching and forward masking and those used to measure compression and frequency selectivity. It can be used as a front end to automatic speech recognisers for the study of speech in quiet and in noise. The model can also simulate theories of hearing impairment and be used to make predictions about the efficacy of hearing aids. The use of the software will be described along with illustrations of its application in the study of the psychology of hearing.
A central question in auditory scene analysis is how we are able to follow speech against a background of interfering noise. The question is particularly acute for artificial speech recognition algorithms and the hearing impaired. The medial efferent system has been suggested as one contributor to our ability to hear speech in noise. We have recently added efferent suppression to our model of the auditory periphery and evaluated it against physiological observations at the level of the basilar membrane and auditory nerve. We have also replicated a study using compound action potentials where a tone in a noise background became more salient when the efferent system was artificially activated. Visual representations of the computed auditory nerve response to speech in noise show considerable improvement when the efferent system is activated. Tests using the auditory model as a front end to a connected-word recognition algorithm also showed improved performance in the presence of noise when efferent effects were included. The benefits of efferent suppression include reduced compression and extension of the dynamic range of individual auditory nerve fibers.
The Silver Medal is presented to individuals, without age limitation, for contributions to the advancement of science, engineering, or human welfare through the application of acoustic principles, or through research accomplishment in acoustics.
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