BIOSPEECH INC — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NIDCD

Description

SUMMARY AUDIOBOOK FOR HEARING LOSS There is a growing consensus that hearing lossHLcannot be addressed with hearing aidsHAsor cochlear implantsCIsaloneauditory training is also neededWhile face to face auditory training is availablethis intervention is generally not covered by insurance plansAuditory training Apps have become available to fill this need in a cost effective mannerUnfortunatelyevidence for the efficacy of these products is weaka recent large scale randomized controlled trial found no effect on a wide range of outcome measuresA likely suspect for these results is that most aural rehab Apps are repetitiveeven with gamification and rewardsA popular method used by individuals with HL to improve their listening skills is listening to audiobooksAudiobooks have the strong advantage over many aural rehab Apps of being intrinsically motivatingHoweverexisting audiobooks do not adequately accommodate individuals with more severe levels of HL unless they are fundamentally re thoughtThe goal of the proposed project is to create an Audiobook for Hearing Loss Appan audiobook App that has a wide array of user selectable features designed to provide auditory trainingHelp individuals with recent CIs HAs through the difficult initial adjustment processand help with transitioning at oneandapos s own pace toward the goal of understandinghabitual speechspeech spoken without special effort to be intelligibleEven if not used for auditory trainingthis app would provide access to audiobooks where standard audiobooks failThusthe App serves both auditory training and accessibilityProposed features include enhancedclearspeech modesvisual support by simultaneous display of text and a talking faceand other features that can be enabled or disabled to serve the userandapos s unique needs NARRATIVEThe proposed projectandapos s goal is to create an audiobook app for individuals with hearing loss with enhanced audio and visual features to support listeningserving to provide auditory training for individuals who want to improve their hearing skills as well provide access to audiobooks for individuals whose hearing ability preludes listening to standard audiobooks