Auditory Speech Preprocessors

A nonlinear transmission line model of the cochlea (Zweig 1988) is proposed as the basis for a novel speech preprocessor. Sounds of different intensities, such as voiced and unvoiced speech, are preprocessed in radically different ways. The Q's of the preprocessor's nonlinear filters vary with input amplitude, higher Q's (longer integration times) corresponding to quieter sounds. Like the cochlea, the preprocessor acts as a "subthreshold laser" that traps and amplifies low level signals, thereby aiding in their detection and analysis.

[1]  D. Kemp.  Stimulated acoustic emissions from within the human auditory system. , 1978, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[2]  W S Rhode.  Cochlear mechanics. , 1984, Annual review of physiology.

[3]  E Zwicker,et al.  Interrelation of different oto-acoustic emissions. , 1984, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[4]  M. Liberman.  The cochlear frequency map for the cat: labeling auditory-nerve fibers of known characteristic frequency. , 1982, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[5]  M. Sachs,et al.  Two-tone inhibition in auditory-nerve fibers. , 1968, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[6]  M. Charles Liberman,et al.  Single unit clues to cochlear mechanisms , 1986, Hearing Research.

[7]  E. ELLIOTT,et al.  A Ripple Effect in the Audiogram , 1958, Nature.

[8]  D T Kemp.  The evoked cochlear mechanical response and the auditory microstructure - evidence for a new element in cochlear mechanics. , 1979, Scandinavian audiology. Supplementum.

[9]  D. T. Kemp,et al.  Towards a model for the origin of cochlear echoes , 1980, Hearing Research.

[10]  J. Flanagan.  Speech Analysis, Synthesis and Perception , 1971 .

[11]  D T Kemp,et al.  Physiologically active cochlear micromechanics--one source of tinnitus. , 1981, Ciba Foundation symposium.

[12]  Kemp Dt,et al.  The evoked cochlear mechanical response and the auditory microstructure - evidence for a new element in cochlear mechanics. , 1979 .

[13]  H. Helmholtz,et al.  On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music , 2005 .