An acoustic head simulator for hearing protector evaluation. I: Design and construction

As an alternative to subjective methods, an acoustic head simulator was constructed for hearing protector evaluation. The primary purpose of the device is for hearing protector testing and research under high-level steady-state and impulse noise environments. The design is based on the KEMAR manikin and therefore approximates the physical dimensions and the acoustical eardrum impedance of the median human adult. The head simulator includes a mechanical reproduction of the human circumaural and intraaural tissues with a silicone rubber material. A compliant head-neck system was constructed to approximate the vibrational characteristics of the human head in a sound field in order to simulate the inertia effect of earmuffs. The bone-conducted sounds are not mechanically reproduced in the design. Applications for the device are reported in a companion article [C. Giguère and H. Kunov, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 85, 1197-1205 (1989)].     

Imaging high-frequency periodic motion in the mouse ear with coherently interleaved optical coherence tomography

Vibratory measurements of the structures of the ear are key to understanding much of the pathology in mouse models of hearing loss. Unfortunately the high-speed sampling required to interrogate the high end of the mouse hearing spectrum is beyond the reach of most optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems. To address this issue, we have developed an algorithm that enables phase-sensitive OCT measurements over the full range of the mouse hearing spectrum (4-90 kHz). The algorithm phase-locks the line-trigger to the acoustic stimulation and then uses interleaved sampling to reconstruct the signal with higher temporal sampling. The algorithm was evaluated by measuring the vibratory response of mouse tympanic membrane to a pure tone stimulus.     

The mechanical point impedance of the human head, with and without skin penetration

The fact that a titanium screw can be implanted into the mastoid portion of the human skull, at the same time establishing a permanent, reaction-free skin penetration, has made it possible to attach a new bone conduction hearing aid directly to the skull. To understand and improve this new method of bone stimulation, the mechanical point impedance of the titanium screw-skull system was measured. The conventional point impedance of the skin-covered mastoid portion of the temporal bone was also measured and the difference in magnitude between the two impedances was calculated. An impedance head (Brüel & Kjaer 8001) and an FFT analyzer (Hewlett-Packard 5423) were used for mechanical point impedance measurements. Seven patients have been investigated. The magnitude of the impedance for the screw-skull system was found to be generally between 10 and 30 dB higher than that for the conventional skin-covered mastoid bone. One conclusion is that the conventional point impedance of the skin-covered mastoid portion of the human skull is essentially due to the properties of the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue. Another conclusion is that a much lower stimulation velocity is needed, with skin penetration, to produce a given hearing sensation.     

真人头部骨导效应实验和分析

利用耳声发射原理,借鉴三间隔范式分离方法,提出对骨导振子施加扫频音,以快速准确获取全频段刺激频率耳声发射(SFOAE)信号的方法,以此研究真人头部的骨导效应,将测得的耳声信号和骨导振子激励信号之间的相对关系定义为耳声相关骨传导响应函数(OAR-BCRF)。10名听力正常的受试者的OAR-BCRF实验结果表明,不同刺激强度下测量的OAR-BCRF的包络形状差异不大,仅幅度随着刺激强度的增加而整体增大;乳突和下颌骨髁突两个不同刺激位置下的OAR-BCRF包络整体趋势相似,但在不同频段存在差异,下颌骨髁突处的经颅传输要低于乳突。受试者的平均OAR-BCRF数据显示,在2~6 kHz之间,同侧OAR-BCRF的幅度最大相差13 dB,而对侧OAR-BCRF最大相差19 dB。实验也发现同侧与对侧的OAR-BCRF包络相似且双侧骨传导的隔离度不高。本文的OAR-BCRF研究有效地探讨了真人头部的骨导传输的生理特性,可为经颅衰减和骨传导空间声定位等相关研究提供基础。      

Improved precision in measurements of acoustic impedance spectra using resonance-free calibration loads and controlled error distribution

Resonances and/or singularities during measurement and calibration often limit the precision of acoustic impedance spectra. This paper reviews and compares several established techniques, and describes a technique that incorporates three features that considerably improve precision. The first feature is to minimize problems due to resonances by calibrating the instrument using up to three different acoustic reference impedances that do not themselves exhibit resonances. The second involves using multiple pressure transducers to reduce the effects of measurement singularities. The third involves iteratively tailoring the spectrum of the stimulus signal to control the distribution of errors across the particular measured impedance spectrum. Examples are given of the performance of the technique on simple cylindrical waveguides.     

Constrained adaptation for feedback cancellation in hearing aids.

In feedback cancellation in hearing aids, an adaptive filter is used to model the feedback path. The output of the adaptive filter is subtracted from the microphone signal to cancel the acoustic and mechanical feedback picked up by the microphone, thus allowing more gain in the hearing aid. In general, the feedback-cancellation filter adapts on the hearing-aid input signal, and signal cancellation and coloration artifacts can occur for a narrow-band input. In this paper, two procedures for LMS adaptation with a constraint on the magnitude of the adaptive weight vector are derived. The constraints greatly reduce the probability that the adaptive filter will cancel a narrow-band input. Simulation results are used to demonstrate the efficacy of the constrained adaptation.     

Risk factors for hearing loss at different frequencies in a population of 47,388 noise-exposed workers.

Weighted regression analysis was applied to determine the dependence of the hearing thresholds of 47,388 noise-exposed workers on age, sex, noise immission level, ear disease, head injury, tinnitus, hearing protector usage, and audiometric frequency in the range from 0.5 to 6 kHz. It could be shown that the hearing thresholds at any frequency are dominated by the age of the worker and that women, after equivalent exposure conditions, hear better than men. The relative effects of sex, noise immission level, ear diseases, tinnitus, and hearing protector usage are related to the audiometric frequency. Users of hearing protectors at the last audiometric investigation hear worse than nonusers. Hearing protector usage is strongly related with the hearing threshold in the low-frequency range. The noise immission level does not noticeably affect the hearing threshold below 3 kHz. The most important frequency of the noise immission level is as expected 4 kHz. For 4 kHz, it was shown that the variables age, noise immission level, tinnitus, head injuries, and ear diseases act in a good approximation additively on the pure-tone hearing threshold.     

Applied topology optimization of vibro-acoustic hearing instrument models

Designing hearing instruments remains an acoustic challenge as users request small designs for comfortable wear and cosmetic appeal and at the same time require sufficient amplification from the device. First, to ensure proper amplification in the device, a critical design challenge in the hearing instrument is to minimize the feedback between the outputs (generated sound and vibrations) from the receiver looping back into the microphones. Secondly, the feedback signal is minimized using time consuming trial-and-error design procedures for physical prototypes and virtual models using finite element analysis. In the present work it is demonstrated that structural topology optimization of vibro-acoustic finite element models can be used to both sufficiently minimize the feedback signal and to reduce the time consuming trial-and-error design approach. The structural topology optimization of a vibro-acoustic finite element model is shown for an industrial full scale model hearing instrument.     

Acoustic mechanisms that determine the ear-canal sound pressures generated by earphones

In clinical measurements of hearing sensitivity, a given earphone is assumed to produce essentially the same sound-pressure level in all ears. However, recent measurements [Voss et al., Ear and Hearing (in press)] show that with some middle-ear pathologies, ear-canal sound pressures can deviate by as much as 35 dB from the normal-ear value; the deviations depend on the earphone, the middle-ear pathology, and frequency. These pressure variations cause errors in the results of hearing tests. Models developed here identify acoustic mechanisms that cause pressure variations in certain pathological conditions. The models combine measurement-based Thévenin equivalents for insert and supra-aural earphones with lumped-element models for both the normal ear and ears with pathologies that alter the ear's impedance (mastoid bowl, tympanostomy tube, tympanic-membrane perforation, and a "high-impedance" ear). Comparison of the earphones' Thévenin impedances to the ear's input impedance with these middle-ear conditions shows that neither class of earphone acts as an ideal pressure source; with some middle-ear pathologies, the ear's input impedance deviates substantially from normal and thereby causes abnormal ear-canal pressure levels. In general, for the three conditions that make the ear's impedance magnitude lower than normal, the model predicts a reduced ear-canal pressure (as much as 35 dB), with a greater pressure reduction with an insert earphone than with a supra-aural earphone. In contrast, the model predicts that ear-canal pressure levels increase only a few dB when the ear has an increased impedance magnitude; the compliance of the air-space between the tympanic membrane and the earphone determines an upper limit on the effect of the middle-ear's impedance increase. Acoustic leaks at the earphone-to-ear connection can also cause uncontrolled pressure variations during hearing tests. From measurements at the supra-aural earphone-to-ear connection, we conclude that it is unusual for the connection between the earphone cushion and the pinna to seal effectively for frequencies below 250 Hz. The models developed here explain the measured pressure variations with several pathologic ears. Understanding these mechanisms should inform the design of more accurate audiometric systems which might include a microphone that monitors the ear-canal pressure and corrects deviations from normal.     

Proper and first order solutions of mechanically constrained panels

The paper is a sequel to a recently published paper [1]. The solutions describing the vibratory and acoustic properties of coated panels constrained by line impedance non-uniformities are derived. Also obtained are solutions derived by assuming individuals and/or sets of mechanical constraints t0 be non-interacting. The former solutions are dubbed proper, the latter first order. The purpose of the paper is to set analytical procedures for establishing the useful range and ground rules for employing the simpler first order instead of the more complex proper solutions.     

Occluded-ear simulator with variable acoustic properties.

Ear simulators were designed to replicate acoustical characteristics of the average adult ear. Due to variability of ear-canal geometry and eardrum impedance among individuals, the possibility of any one person exhibiting such "average" characteristics--especially if that person is a child and/or has a conductive pathology--is remote. Thus, ear simulators have been of only peripheral value when prescribing a hearing aid (a high output impedance device) to fit the acoustical requirements of a particular patient. Reported herein is development of a programmable artificial ear (PAE) that can account for individual differences in ear-canal geometry and eardrum impedance. It consists of a 2.0-cc coupler, microphone, amplifier, computer, PAE code, and a computer card and/or software for digitization and Fourier transformation. Required input data includes ear-canal dimensions, eardrum impedance, and output impedance of the hearing aid being tested. Sound-pressure recordings produced in the 2.0-cc coupler by the hearing aid are adjusted by the computer to what they would have been had the recordings been made at the eardrum of a particular patient wearing the same hearing aid. Good agreement was observed between experiment and theory for one test case involving a totally occluding miniature earphone.     

A computer simulation of hearing aid response and the effects of ear canal size

The response of a hearing aid is affected by many factors which include the head and outer ear, the microphone, amplifier, and receiver used in the hearing aid, the properties of the ear canal and the eardrum, and acoustic feedback through the vent. This article presents a computer simulation of an in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid that includes all of the above factors. The simulation predicts the pressure at the eardrum for a frontal free-field sound source. The computer model was then used to determine the effects on the hearing aid response due to variations in the size of the ear canal. The simulation indicates that, for an unvented hearing aid, changes in the size of the ear canal shift the overall sound-pressure level at the eardrum but have only small effects on the shape of the frequency response. The situation is more complicated when a vent is present, however, since changes in the size of the ear canal that cause apparently small perturbations in the acoustic feedback signal may, nonetheless, have large effects on the overall system response.     

Acoustic impedance microscopy for biological tissue characterization

A new method for two-dimensional acoustic impedance imaging for biological tissue characterization with micro-scale resolution was proposed. A biological tissue was placed on a plastic substrate with a thickness of 0.5 mm. A focused acoustic pulse with a wide frequency band was irradiated from the “rear side” of the substrate. In order to generate the acoustic wave, an electric pulse with two nanoseconds in width was applied to a PVDF-TrFE type transducer. The component of echo intensity at an appropriate frequency was extracted from the signal received at the same transducer, by performing a time–frequency domain analysis. The spectrum intensity was interpreted into local acoustic impedance of the target tissue. The acoustic impedance of the substrate was carefully assessed prior to the measurement, since it strongly affects the echo intensity. In addition, a calibration was performed using a reference material of which acoustic impedance was known. The reference material was attached on the same substrate at different position in the field of view. An acoustic impedance microscopy with 200 × 200 pixels, its typical field of view being 2 × 2 mm, was obtained by scanning the transducer. The development of parallel fiber in cerebella cultures was clearly observed as the contrast in acoustic impedance, without staining the specimen. The technique is believed to be a powerful tool for biological tissue characterization, as no staining nor slicing is required.     

Measurement of Strain Distributions in Mouse Femora with 3D-Digital Speckle Pattern Interferometry

Bone is a mechanosensitive tissue that adapts its mass, architecture and mechanical properties to external loading. Appropriate mechanical loads offer an effective means to stimulate bone remodeling and prevent bone loss. A role of in situ strain in bone is considered essential in enhancement of bone formation, and establishing a quantitative relationship between 3D strain distributions and a rate of local bone formation is important. Digital speckle pattern interferometry (DSPI) can achieve whole-field, non-contacting measurements of microscopic deformation for high-resolution determination of 3D strain distributions. However, the current system does not allow us to derive accurate strain distributions because of complex surface contours inherent to biological samples. Through development of a custom-made piezoelectric loading device as well as a new DSPI-based force calibration system, we built an advanced DSPI system and integrated local contour information to deformation data. Using a mouse femur in response to a knee loading modality as a model system, we determined 3D strain distributions and discussed effectiveness and limitations of the described system.     

Directional wave separation in tubular acoustic systems – The development and evaluation of two industrially applicable techniques

An acoustic device is used to evaluate internal features and defects within tubes by determination of the acoustic impulse response. This paper concerns methods of separating the total pressure wave measured in the device into its forward and backward travelling components, which facilitates computation of the acoustic impulse response. The device comprises a tube that has a speaker at one end and is axially instrumented with microphones. Unlike similar works, the methods presented in this paper were designed to be applied in an industrial context, they allow simple calibration and implementation using readily transportable equipment. Two wave separation algorithms are presented; the first is a known method that has been improved to provide simplified calibration and the second is a computationally inexpensive technique that has been adapted to improve its operational bandwidth. The techniques are critically evaluated using a custom built test rig, designed to simulate realistic tube features and defects such as constrictions, holes and corrosion. It is demonstrated that, although inter-microphone attenuation is not accounted for in the second algorithm, both algorithms function well and give similar results. It is concluded that the added sophistication of the first method means that it is less affected by low frequency interference and is capable of yielding more accurate results. However, in practical use as an evaluation tool, the benefits of including inter-microphone attenuation are outweighed by the additional calibration and computational requirements. Finally the output of the wave separation techniques is validated by showing agreement between experimental impulse response measurements and those obtained from a theoretically derived acoustic tube simulator.     

Complete ultrasonic transducer characterization and its use for models and measurements

Transmitting and receiving properties of ultrasonic piezoelectric crystal transducers that directly affect the measured output voltage in an ultrasonic measurement system are described. These transducer properties are the transducer's electrical impedance and sensitivity, the transducer's radiation impedance, and the transducer's effective parameters (effective radius and focal length). It is shown that all these properties can be obtained with a series of calibration measurements, most of them purely electrical in nature. This series of measurements is described, including a newly developed method that makes the determination of the transducer sensitivity simpler than with previous methods. It is demonstrated that by combining these transducer properties with knowledge of the electrical properties of the pulser/receiver and cabling and the acoustic/elastic processes present in an ultrasonic measurement system, it is possible to accurately simulate the output voltage of the system.     

Characteristics of thermal acoustic radiation as a source of acoustic signals

A linear dependence of the output voltage of an acoustic thermometer on the temperature difference between the source and the piezoelectric transducer is demonstrated experimentally. The constant component of the output voltage is determined by the noise temperature of the receiving device. The main feature of the thermal acoustic radiation as a source of acoustic signals is that the signal is represented not by the total thermal radiation of the object, which is proportional to the absolute temperature of the latter, but by the part of this radiation that is proportional to the temperature difference between the object and the transducer.     

Application of piezoelectric transient response in transducer acoustic power measurement

To explore a more convenient method for measuring the focused ultrasound power,a piezoelectric ceramic plate was used to receive ultrasonic signal directly.Due to an acoustic force acts on the surface of piezoelectric ceramic plate,the piezoelectric response was obtained by means of electromechanical analogy,which was composed of voltage response caused by forced vibration and high frequency attenuation response caused by natural vibration.The conversion relationship between output signal of piezoelectric ceramic plate and acoustic power of transducer was analyzed.The envelope of output piezoelectric signal was extracted in twice,and a voltage amplitude curve with sinusoidal distribution that could describe the changes of acoustic power was obtained.Under different drive voltage of transducer,the maximum peak voltage of envelope curve was found respectively.Their squared values were made a linear fitting with acoustic power measured by acoustic power meter,and then the proportional coefficient of theoretical relational expression was calibrated.The experimental results are in good agreement with the theory.The relative error between calibrated theoretical acoustic power and that measured by acoustic power meter was less than 8.7%.The paper can provide a guideline for measuring acoustic power of transducer by using piezoelectric signal.     

An acoustic switch

The benefits derived from the development of acoustic transistors which act as switches or amplifiers have been reported in the literature. Here we propose a model of acoustic switch. We theoretically demonstrate that the device works: the input signal is totally restored at the output when the switch is on whereas the output signal nulls when the switch is off. The switch, on or off, depends on a secondary acoustic field capable to manipulate the main acoustic field. The model relies on the attenuation effect of many oscillating bubbles on the main travelling wave in the liquid, as well as on the capacity of the secondary acoustic wave to move the bubbles. This model evidences the concept of acoustic switch (transistor) with 100% efficiency.