听觉感知中的噪声特性语义描述及其分析

基于听觉感知的噪声语义描述是噪声声品质研究的基础性问题,已有研究未将语义描述与噪声来源、频谱特性以及产品运行状态等物理信息联系起来。该文分别针对飞机舱内噪声、车辆噪声和空气净化器噪声这3组典型噪声开展了主观评价实验,并通过多维尺度分析和主成分分析描述了3组噪声的语义空间,系统分析了不同类型噪声的描述词,同时解释了描述词与噪声物理属性之间的联系。研究发现：飞机舱内噪声、车辆噪声以及空气净化器噪声可以由4维、4维和3维语义空间进行描述;不同类型噪声在语义描述中具有共性与个性,3组噪声语义的主要维度均与嘈杂感相关,而噪声的个性描述词与其声源的物理属性密切相关;进行声品质建模及应用时,应同时考虑噪声共性和个性描述词对听觉感知的影响,采取有针对性的措施以提升产品声品质。该文从听觉感知的角度进行了噪声特性的语义描述和分析,研究结果可为产品声品质以及噪声控制研究提供帮助。     

水下噪声听觉属性的主观评价与分析

为探求人耳感知水下目标类型的声学因素,研究了水下噪声听觉属性空间的维度数及其各维度的物理解释.首先通过词汇聚类分析和问卷调查确定评价水下噪声听觉属性的汉语描述词,然后完成基于成对比较法和语义细分法的主观评价实验,获得听觉属性的不相似性矩阵及各样本在不同听觉属性下的主观评价分值.最后,利用多维尺度分析确定水下噪声听觉属性空间由五个维度组成,再利用主成分分析得到独立的五个主成分,进而利用相关系数和压力值确定五个主成分分别表示听觉属性空间的五个维度,根据各个主成分对应的汉语描述词所反映的听觉属性对其进行物理解释 关键词： 听觉属性 多维尺度分析 主成分分析     

基于广义正交迭代算法的立体视觉定位

提出了一种新的基于广义正交迭代算法的立体视觉定位.该算法通过提取CenSurE局部特征和相应的U-SURF描述符,采用SAD方法进行子像素立体匹配,并利用U-SURF描述符匹配进行前后帧图像特征跟踪.在RANSAC框架下对匹配点进行3D-3D运动估计获得了运动参量的初始值.由于3D-3D运动估计使3D点集间欧式距离误差最小,而3D特征点坐标受噪音影响很大,因此运动估计误差也较大.本文把广义正交迭代算法应用到立体视觉定位方法中,得到使立体相机目标空间共线性误差最小的运动估计参量,由于共线性误差比3D-3D运动估计算法中的共点误差受噪音影响更小,从而大大较少了运动估计误差.仿真实验和户外真实实验表明：本文算法获得了较高的计算准确度、鲁棒性和实时性,优于传统方法.     

基于听觉中枢模型的水下噪声音色表达与特性分析

为建立水下噪声音色特征的定量表达以用于目标识别, 本文将主观评价实验获得的 4个本质音色维度得分与声音的听觉中枢响应建立联系, 得到音色的偏最小二乘回归模型, 并基于回归系数对每个维度进行物理分析. 为验证该方法的有效性, 本文提取大量音色描述符作为自变量进行对比, 结果表明听觉中枢模型预测能力有一定优势. 同时发现, 前 3个本质音色维度可分别由高频能量比例、谱平坦程度和时域连续性描述, 而第4 维度则无法与任何声学特征建立联系. 关键词： 本质音色 听觉中枢模型 偏最小二乘回归 音色描述符     

A computer model of medial efferent suppression in the mammalian auditory system

Stimulation of the olivocochlear bundle reduces basilar membrane displacement, driven auditory nerve activity, and compound action potential (CAP) response to acoustic stimulation. These effects were simulated using a computer model of the auditory periphery. The model simulates the medial efferent activity by attenuating the basilar membrane response. The model was evaluated against three animal studies reporting measurements at three levels of the auditory system; basilar membrane, single auditory nerve fibers and whole auditory nerve CAP. The CAP data included conditions where tones were masked by noise and "unmasked" by stimulation of the olivocochlear bundle. The model was able to simulate the data both qualitatively and quantitatively. As a consequence, it may be a suitable platform for studying the contribution of the efferent system to auditory processing of more complex auditory sounds in distracting backgrounds.     

Estimates of effective frequency selectivity based on the detection of a tone added to complex maskers

In Experiment 1, the validity of parameters associated with the roex(p, r) auditory filter shape was examined for three different types of maskers: (a) A noise masker, (b) a random 12-tone masker whose frequencies varied on a burst-by-burst basis [multiple-burst different (MBD)], and (c) a random 12-tone masker whose frequencies were the same across bursts [multiple-burst same (MBS)]. First, the power spectrum model of masking was used to estimate auditory filter shapes for four observers. Second, the resulting auditory filter shapes were used in a computer simulation that provided an estimate of internal noise for each observer. Third, relative weights across frequency were estimated for each observer and each masker type. For the noise masker, these analyses provided predictions and relative weights that were consistent across the three analyses. For the MBD and MBS maskers, there was little consistency; neither the estimated internal noise nor the estimated relative weights reliably supported a single-filter model of detection. In Experiment 2, the time course for the detection of a tone added to an MBD masker was evaluated by estimating relative weights jointly in time and frequency. The relative weights at the signal frequency formed a rough inverse "U" across time.     

Psychoacoustic correlates of individual noise sensitivity

In environmental noise surveys, self-reported noise sensitivity, a stable personality trait covering attitudes toward a wide range of environmental sounds, is a major predictor of individual noise-annoyance reactions. Its relationship to basic measures of auditory functioning, however, has not been systematically explored. Therefore, in the present investigation, a sample of 61 unselected listeners was subjected to a battery of psychoacoustic procedures ranging from threshold determinations to loudness scaling tasks. No significant differences in absolute thresholds, intensity discrimination, simple auditory reaction time, or power-function exponents for loudness emerged, when the sample was split along the median into two groups of "low" vs "high" noise sensitivity on the basis of scores obtained from a psychometrically evaluated questionnaire [Zimmer and Ellermeier, Diagnostica 44, 11-20 (1998)]. Small, but systematic differences were found in verbal loudness estimates, and in ratings of the unpleasantness of natural sounds, thus suggesting that self-reported noise sensitivity captures evaluative rather than sensory aspects of auditory processing.     

The effects of hearing loss on the contribution of high- and low-frequency speech information to speech understanding

The speech understanding of persons with "flat" hearing loss (HI) was compared to a normal-hearing (NH) control group to examine how hearing loss affects the contribution of speech information in various frequency regions. Speech understanding in noise was assessed at multiple low- and high-pass filter cutoff frequencies. Noise levels were chosen to ensure that the noise, rather than quiet thresholds, determined audibility. The performance of HI subjects was compared to a NH group listening at the same signal-to-noise ratio and a comparable presentation level. Although absolute speech scores for the HI group were reduced, performance improvements as the speech and noise bandwidth increased were comparable between groups. These data suggest that the presence of hearing loss results in a uniform, rather than frequency-specific, deficit in the contribution of speech information. Measures of auditory thresholds in noise and speech intelligibility index (SII) calculations were also performed. These data suggest that differences in performance between the HI and NH groups are due primarily to audibility differences between groups. Measures of auditory thresholds in noise showed the "effective masking spectrum" of the noise was greater for the HI than the NH subjects.     

Functional magnetic resonance imaging measurements of sound-level encoding in the absence of background scanner noise

Effects of sound level on auditory cortical activation are seen in neuroimaging data. However, factors such as the cortical response to the intense ambient scanner noise and to the bandwidth of the acoustic stimuli will both confound precise quantification and interpretation of such sound-level effects. The present study used temporally "sparse" imaging to reduce effects of scanner noise. To achieve control for stimulus bandwidth, three schemes were compared for sound-level matching across bandwidth: component level, root-mean-square power and loudness. The calculation of the loudness match was based on the model reported by Moore and Glasberg [Acta Acust. 82, 335-345 (1996)]. Ten normally hearing volunteers were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (tMRI) while listening to a 300-Hz tone presented at six different sound levels between 66 and 91 dB SPL and a harmonic-complex tone (F0= 186 Hz) presented at 65 and 85 dB SPL. This range of sound levels encompassed all three bases of sound-level matching. Activation in the superior temporal gyrus, induced by each of the eight tone conditions relative to a quiet baseline condition, was quantified as to extent and magnitude. Sound level had a small, but significant, effect on the extent of activation for the pure tone, but not for the harmonic-complex tone, while it had a significant effect on the response magnitude for both types of stimulus. Response magnitude increased linearly as a function of sound level for the full range of levels for the pure tone. The harmonic-complex tone produced greater activation than the pure tone, irrespective of the matching scheme for sound level, indicating that bandwidth had a greater effect on the pattern of auditory activation than sound level. Nevertheless, when the data were collapsed across stimulus class, extent and magnitude were significantly correlated with the loudness scale (measured in phons), but not with the intensity scale (measured in SPL). We therefore recommend the loudness formula as the most appropriate basis of matching sound level to control for loudness effects when cortical responses to other stimulus attributes, such as stimulus class, are the principal concern.     

Underwater temporary threshold shift in pinnipeds: effects of noise level and duration

Behavioral psychophysical techniques were used to evaluate the residual effects of underwater noise on the hearing sensitivity of three pinnipeds: a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus), a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), and a northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris). Temporary threshold shift (TTS), defined as the difference between auditory thresholds obtained before and after noise exposure, was assessed. The subjects were exposed to octave-band noise centered at 2500 Hz at two sound pressure levels: 80 and 95 dB SL (re: auditory threshold at 2500 Hz). Noise exposure durations were 22, 25, and 50 min. Threshold shifts were assessed at 2500 and 3530 Hz. Mean threshold shifts ranged from 2.9-12.2 dB. Full recovery of auditory sensitivity occurred within 24 h of noise exposure. Control sequences, comprising sham noise exposures, did not result in significant mean threshold shifts for any subject. Threshold shift magnitudes increased with increasing noise sound exposure level (SEL) for two of the three subjects. The results underscore the importance of including sound exposure metrics (incorporating sound pressure level and exposure duration) in order to fully assess the effects of noise on marine mammal hearing.     

The performance of different synthesis signals in acoustic models of cochlear implants

Synthesis (carrier) signals in acoustic models embody assumptions about perception of auditory electric stimulation. This study compared speech intelligibility of consonants and vowels processed through a set of nine acoustic models that used Spectral Peak (SPEAK) and Advanced Combination Encoder (ACE)-like speech processing, using synthesis signals which were representative of signals used previously in acoustic models as well as two new ones. Performance of the synthesis signals was determined in terms of correspondence with cochlear implant (CI) listener results for 12 attributes of phoneme perception (consonant and vowel recognition; F1, F2, and duration information transmission for vowels; voicing, manner, place of articulation, affrication, burst, nasality, and amplitude envelope information transmission for consonants) using four measures of performance. Modulated synthesis signals produced the best correspondence with CI consonant intelligibility, while sinusoids, narrow noise bands, and varying noise bands produced the best correspondence with CI vowel intelligibility. The signals that performed best overall (in terms of correspondence with both vowel and consonant attributes) were modulated and unmodulated noise bands of varying bandwidth that corresponded to a linearly varying excitation width of 0.4 mm at the apical to 8 mm at the basal channels.     

An analysis of the effects of structural parameter variations on the auditory perception of environmental noises transmitted through a simulated window

The present paper concerns the influence of the independent variation of some structural parameters on the auditory perception of environmental noises transmitted through a window. The pane of glass in its frame was modelled as a thin baffled plate with viscoelastic boundary conditions; transmitted noises were then synthesized by convolving a binaurally recorded environmental noise to different calculated impulse responses of the plate involving so many different values of the structural parameters (structural damping factor and mounting conditions). Stimuli were pairwise submitted to a jury of subjects who were asked to give dissimilarity and preference judgments. Analysis first allowed to identify the relevant auditory attributes that were likely used by the subjects in their differentiation task, and also focused on drawing up a preference ranking of the transmitted noises in order to provide recommendations for window structural modifications that could improve acoustic comfort in inner spaces. On this point, depending on the structural parameter, recommendations appear to be more or less consensual in relation to the outdoor sound context.     

Auditory masking of a 10 kHz tone with environmental, comodulated, and Gaussian noise in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)

The pattern of auditory masking derived from Gaussian noise is often cited and used to predict the detrimental effects of masking noise on marine mammals. However, environmental noise (both anthropogenic and natural) may not always be Gaussian distributed. Some noise sources are highly structured with complex amplitude fluctuations that extend across frequency regions, which are often termed comodulated noise. Recent evidence with bottlenose dolphins using comodulated noise demonstrated a significant release from masking compared to Gaussian maskers of the same bandwidth and pressure spectral density level, a result known as comodulation masking release. The present study demonstrates a pattern of masking where both temporally fluctuating comodulated noise and environmental noise produce lower masked thresholds compared to Gaussian noise of the same spectral density level and bandwidth. Furthermore, a threshold reduction or "masking release" occurred when the environmental noise bandwidth increased beyond a critical band. These results provide further evidence that conventional models of auditory masking using Gaussian maskers (i.e., the power spectrum model) do not fully describe the masking effects that occur in realistic environments.     

基于听觉模型的话者特征参数提取及其在噪声背景下的话者辨识

本文基于人耳听觉模型提出了一种鲁棒性的话者特征参数提取方法。该种方法中,首先由Gamma tone听觉滤波器组和Meddis内耳毛细胞发放模型获得表征听觉神经活动特性的听觉相关图。由听觉神经脉冲发放的锁相特性和双声抑制特性,我们将听觉相关图每个频带中的幅值最大频率分量作为表征当前频带特性的特征参量,于是所有频带的特征参量便构成了表征当前语音段特性的特征矢量;我们采用DCT交换进一步消除各个特征参量之间的相关性,压缩特征矢量的维数。有效性试验表明,该种特征矢量基本上反映了输入语音的谱包络特性;抗噪声性能实验表明,在高斯白噪声和汽车噪声干扰下,这种特征参数比LPCC和MFCC有较小的相对失真;基于矢量量化的文本无关话者辨识表明,对于三种类型的噪声干扰该种特征参数在低信噪比下都获得了较好的识别结果。