Speech-controlled automated matrix test (Knowledge Transfer Project) (T01#)

• Subject Area: Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 14945932

In a society in which more than 17% of the population suffer from a hearing deficit, reliable and easily accessible hearing test methods become more and more important to allow for an earlyintervention (e.g. with listening devices) and to assess the benefit of such interventions. Matrix sentence tests are an exact and internationally accepted method, but up to now require the presence of a human supervisor who logs the listener’s responses. We propose to develop aprototype for a Speech-controlled Automated Matrix Test (SAMT) as an easily accessible hearingtest, which is based on automatic speech recognition (ASR). The system will enable unsupervisedhearing testing which will significantly raise its applicability since it requires far less resources than its supervised counterpart. SAMT will be based on the Oldenburg Sentence test (OLSA), which is available in 16 languages. Through this project, we will provide a system that can perform the test in two languages, as well as a development kit for rapid adaptation to new languages. In a clinical setting, the system will enable a reliable clinical hearing test even when the supervisor does not speak the listener’s language, thereby lifting another restriction of today’s listening tests. The project builds on a successful 12-year funding of fundamental research on robust automatic speech recognition as a model for auditory perception of normal and hearing-impaired listeners. Hence, the project will transfer the knowledge and techniques into applications for daily life with the aim to alleviate the situation for persons with a hearing loss.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios (Transfer Project)
• Subproject of: TRR 31: The Active Auditory System
• Applicant Institution: Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg
• Business and Industry: HörTech gGmbH (aufgelöst)
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Birger Kollmeier; Professor Dr. Bernd T. Meyer