Comparison of two multichannel tactile aids for the hearing-impaired

Abstract

Two multichannel tactile devices for the hearing-impaired were compared in tasks using acoustic stimuli of varying levels of complexity. One device was a 16-element linear vibratory array worn on the forearm, which displayed activity in 16 overlapping frequency channels. The other device utilized 16 channels in a similar stimulus processing strategy, but delivered the tactile stimulation to a linear electrocutaneous array worn on the abdomen. Subjects were tested in tasks including phoneme discrimination in pairs of rhyming syllables, phoneme identification in larger sets of rhyming syllables, learning of a list of words, and connected discourse tracking. All stimuli were presented live-voice by a female talker, and lipreading was permitted only in the tracking task. Results showed both devices to be good transmitters of manner and voicing features of articulation, but poor transmitters of place features. Differences between the two devices were found only at the level of connected discourse tracking. Results are discussed in terms of differences between the two devices in processing strategy, location of stimulator array, and type of transducer. [Work supported by NSF and NIH.]