Download William J - Campbell Audiology

William J. Campbell M.S.
Audiologist
724-482-0028
www.campbellaudiology.com
2012
Bottom Up or Top Down?
The process of understanding speech in background noise
can be thought of in terms of the sound entering the outer
ear and traveling through the middle and inner ear where it is
segregated into useful bits of acoustic information which
eventually travel to the brain where labels and meaning are
attached. Researchers refer to this auditory trip as a bottom
up approach due to its directional nature. In addition, there
is a parallel process at work when listening to speech mixed
with other interfering voices and/or noise. It is related to the
ability of the brain to fill in the gaps when only part of the
message is available. It relies on one’s thinking, working
memory, attention, processing speed and language skills
among other things. Think of it as a “cognitive override” that
nature provides . In audiology literature it is referred to as a
top down approach. Hearing impairment distorts the sound
impressions we have been using over a lifetime. Hearing aids
can add important cues that have been lost due to the
normal aging process. However, the ability to solve the
riddle of a partially heard sentence in background noise will
most certainly be related to an individual’s top down
reserves. One reason why the hearing aid industry continues
to struggle with the ultimate device in spite of all the
wonderful digital capabilites is in part due to the large
variability in the end users’ bottom up and top down
capabilities.
Suggested Reading
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 121, #4, April
2007, pp 2362-2375
Journal of American Academy of Audiology, 19:533-541, 2008
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 124, #6,
December 2008, pp 3751-3771
Personal e-mail: Mounya Elhilali, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins
University, 1/21/09
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 126, #3,
September 2009, pp 1427-1439
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 127, #2,
February 2010, pp 943-954; EL37—EL41
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol., 127, #4, April
2010, pp 2509-2520
ASHA Leader, July 6, 2010, pp 14-17
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 128, #1, July
2010, pp 172-181
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 128,#4,
October 2010, EL 169-174; pp 1884-1895
Audiology Today; Sept./Oct. 2010; pp 53-60
The Audiology in Agil---A whitepaper—Oticon, Donald
Schum, 2010
Ear & Hearing, Vol. 31, #3, June 2010, pp 302-324
Acoustics Today, Vol. 6, Issue 3, July 2010
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 128,#5,
November 2010, pp 3114-3125
Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, Vol. 21, #9,
October 2010, pp 568-611; Special Issue : Fourth Biennial
National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research
Conference
Ear & Hearing, Supplement 2011, Vol. 32, #1, pp 60S-74S
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 128,#6
December 2010, pp 3597-3613; 3625-3633
Ear & Hearing , Vol. 32,#2, April 2011, pp 156-167
Acoustics Today, January 2011, pp 15-23
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 130, #1, July
2011, pp 440-460
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 130, #3,
September 2011, pp 1475-1487; 1542-1558
Journal of Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 130, #5,
November 2011, pp2987-2998
The Hearing Journal, Dec. 2011, Vol. 64, #12, pp 9-12
Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, Vol. 23, #1,
January 2012, pp 18-35
Hearing Review, February 2012, pp 10-16