Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

Purdue Research Foundation

Rick Lynn Jenison

Keith Raymond Kluender

Joshua M Alexander

A system and method for selectively enhancing an audio signal to make sounds, particularly speech sounds, more distinguishable. The system and method are designed to divide an input auditory signal into a plurality of spectral channels having associated unenhanced signals and perform enhancement processing on a first subset of the spectral channels and not perform enhancement processing on a second subset of the spectral channels. The enhancement processing is performed by determining an output gain for at least the first subset of spectral channels based on a time-varying history of energy of the unenhanced signals associated with each channel in the first subset of the spectral channels and applying the output gain for each of the first subset of the spectral channels to the unenhanced signals to form enhanced signals associated with each of the first subset of the spectral channels. The system and method are then designed to combine the plurality of enhanced signals associated with each of the first subset of the spectral channels and the unenhanced signals associated with each of the second subset of the spectral channels to form a selectively enhanced output auditory signal.

System and method for selective enhancement of speech signals

A method and apparatus for enhancing an auditory signal to make sounds, particularly speech sounds, more distinguishable. An input auditory signal is divided into a plurality of spectral channels. An output gain for each channel is derived based on the time varying history of the energy in the channel and, preferably, the time varying history of energy in neighboring channels. The magnitude of the output gain for each channel thus derived is preferably inversely related to the history of energy in the channel. The output gain derived for each channel is applied to the channel to form a plurality of modified spectral channel signals. The plurality of modified spectral channel signals are combined to form an enhanced output auditory signal. The present invention is particularly applicable to electronic hearing aid devices, speech recognition systems, and the like.

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Madison, WI, United States of America

Rick Lynn Jenison