Abstract
Electroencephalography (EEG) data can be used to decode an attended speech source in normal-hearing (NH) listeners using high-density EEG caps, as well as around-the-ear EEG devices. The technology may find application in identifying the target speaker in a cocktail party like scenario and steer speech enhancement algorithms in cochlear implants (CIs). However, the worse spectral resolution and the electrical artifacts introduced by a CI may limit the applicability of this approach to CI users. The goal of this study was to investigate whether selective attention can be decoded in CI users using an around-the-ear EEG system (cEEGrid). The performances of high-density cap EEG recordings and cEEGrid EEG recordings were compared in a selective attention paradigm using an envelope tracking algorithm. Speech from two audio books was presented through insert earphones to NH listeners and via direct audio cable to the CI users. 10 NH listeners and 10 bilateral CI users participated in the study. Participants were instructed to attend to one out of the two concurrent speech streams while data were recorded by a 96-channel scalp EEG and an 18-channel cEEGrid setup simultaneously. Reconstruction performance was evaluated by means of parametric correlations between the reconstructed speech and both, the envelope of the attended and the unattended speech stream. Results confirm the feasibility to decode selective attention by means of single-trial EEG data in NH and CI users using a high-density EEG. All NH listeners and 9 out of 10 CI achieved high decoding accuracies. The cEEGrid was successful in decoding selective attention in 5 out of 10 NH listeners. The same result was obtained for CI users.
Highlights
Cochlear implants (CIs) are medical devices that partly replace the function of a damaged inner ear
The demographics for NH listeners and CI users are provided in Tables 1, 2, respectively
With the goal of assessing the feasibility to decode selective attention in CI users using the cEEGrid, we first analyzed the effect of reducing the number of EEG scalp electrodes to approximate the cEEGrid layout
Summary
Cochlear implants (CIs) are medical devices that partly replace the function of a damaged inner ear. It roughly consists of a behind-the-ear sound processor and a set of electrode contacts located inside the cochlea. CI users still face difficulties in understanding speech in more challenging listening environments with multiple speakers, background noise and reverberation (i.e., the cocktail party problem; Cherry, 1953). In such situations, normal-hearing (NH) listeners can focus on one target speaker and effectively suppress other present speakers (Mesgarani and Chang, 2012). This work investigates the possibilities of decoding selective attention in CI users
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