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Biomedical subjects

G A Studebaker

Publications and source records attributed to G A Studebaker.

39 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Spectral changes produced by earphone-cushion reproduction of hearing aid-processed signals.

This investigation was conducted to assess the extent to which hearing aid-processed signals present an acoustic signal to the subject which has a frequency response equivalent to that which the hearing aid itself would have provided. The frequency response of a hearing aid receiver which was coupled directly to the ear canal ("aided" condition) was compared with the frequency response of the same receiver when its output was recorded on magnetic tape and then presented to the subject via a TDH-49 earphone ("pseudoaided" condition). Results indicated that when the earphone was mounted in an MX-41/AR cushion or either of two circumaural cushions, the spectrum of the sound arriving at the subject's eardrum in the pseudoaided condition was substantially different from the spectrum delivered in the aided condition.

Hearing Aids↗

Side branch and parallel vent effects in real ears and in acoustical and electrical models.

The purpose of the project was to demonstrate and explain the acoustic effects of side branch and parallel vents in individual real ears. It was shown that parallel and side branch vents produce similar low frequency filtering effects and vent-associated reactance resonances. However, when the input system incorporates a side branch vent the sound pressure produced in the ear canal at frequencies above the vent-associated resonance is less than that produced when the input system is unvented. This effect is not seen when the input system is associated with a parallel vent. Data obtained in the real ear canals were compared to analogous measurements made using an acoustical model (the Zwislocki coupler) and an electrical model designed to simulate the hearing aid receiver, input tubing, earmold, ear canal, and eardrum. Both models yielded data very similar to the real ear results. The advantages of each model in predicting the effects of individual earmold vents are discussed.

Ear Canal↗

Sound levels in a 2-cc cavity, a Zwislocki coupler, and occluded ear canals.

Probe-tube measurements of the differences in sound levels at three locations in ear canals were compared to the differences in levels measured at analogous positions in a Zwislocki coupler and a 2-cc cavity. The results support the recommendation of Sachs and Burkhard that probe tube measurements should not be made with the probe tube flush with the earmold tip and close to the sound inlet bore. In real ear canals the transfer functions to the eardrum presented by Bruel, Frederikson, and Rasmussen and by Studebaker agree well with each other but differ somewhat from the one used by Sachs and Burkhard. In agreement with Bruel et al., the data of this study reveal a plateau in the relationship between real ear and 2-cc cavity responses between about 1.6 and 4.0 kHz, the relative intensity level of which may depend upon residual ear canal volume.

Acoustics↗