Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!ucsd!rutgers!njin!princeton!phoenix!lseltzer
From: lseltzer@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Linda Ann Seltzer)
Newsgroups: comp.dsp
Subject: Re: DSP Hearing Aids?
Message-ID: <3559@idunno.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 24 Oct 90 17:29:37 GMT
References: <952@eplunix.UUCP> <10810@goofy.Apple.COM> <15797@rasp.eng.cam.ac.uk>
Sender: news@idunno.Princeton.EDU
Organization: Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
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I'm not familiar with wht is available for people who have some
hearing, but my understanding is that there is some DSP work going
on in relation to cochlear implants.  In cochlear implants, the
nerve is stimulated directly, bypassing the non-functioning
cochlea.  For persons who do not have nerve damage or malfunction,
the signals can be perceived and understood, even though they do
not sound like real speech.  Patients can be trained to recognize
speech in these signals.  DSP work is the goal of improving the
signals which are transmitted to the patient, so that they produce
perceived sounds which correspond more closely to speech and which
are easier to interpret.