Looking Beyond Speech Recognition To Evaluate Cochlear Implants

Sound quality from cochlear implants plays a much larger role in daily functioning and well-being.

Cochlear Implants NIH

An illustration of a cochlear implant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health. Credit: NIH This image is a work of the National Institutes of Health, part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, taken or made as part of an employee’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cochlear_implant.jpg)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 14, 2025 – More than a million people around the world rely on cochlear implants (CIs) to hear. CI effectiveness is generally evaluated through speech recognition tests, and despite how widespread they are, CI sound quality is typically not considered an indicator of users’ quality of life.

In JASA Express Letters, published on behalf of the Acoustical Society of America by AIP Publishing, researchers from Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Ohio State University evaluated the relationships between sound quality, speech recognition, and…click to read more

From: JASA Express Letters
Article: Sound quality, not speech recognition, explains cochlear implant-related quality of life outcomes
DOI: 10.1121/10.0039069

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A Twangy Timbre Cuts Through the Noise

Among loud noise, a brassy and bright voice can help speakers be understood.

A study by Tsai et al. showed that twangy, female voices are best understood amongst plane and train sounds. Credit: AIP

A study by Tsai et al. showed that twangy, female voices are best understood amongst plane and train sounds. Credit: AIP

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2025 — Twangy voices are a hallmark of country music and many regional accents. However, this speech type, often described as “brassy” and “bright,” can also be used to get a message across in a noisy environment.

In JASA Express Letters, published on behalf of the Acoustical Society of America by AIP Publishing, researchers from Indiana University found that it was easier to understand twangy female voices compared to neutral voices when…click to read more

From: JASA Express Letters
Article: How vocal timbre impacts word identification and listening effort in traffic-shaped noises
DOI: 10.1121/10.0037043

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Would a Musical Triangle of Any Other Shape Sound as Sweet?

Would a Musical Triangle of Any Other Shape Sound as Sweet?

The surprising proof of resonance in the open-ended musical triangle could exist in circles and squares too.

musical triangle

For the triangle, researchers captured proof that resonance occurs even with the notched, open corner, and it may occur in other instrument shapes as well. Credit: Risako Tanigawa

WASHINGTON, May 6, 2025 – The triangle is a small instrument made of a metal rod bent into a triangle shape that is open at one corner. While small, its sound is distinct, with multiple overtones and nonharmonic resonance. But what causes the surprisingly powerful sound?

“The triangle instrument produces enchanting and beautiful tones, raising deep and profound questions about the connection between music and physics,” author Risako Tanigawa said. “Optical sound measurement has…click to read more

From: JASA Express Letters
Article: How the musical triangle’s shape influences its sound
DOI: 10.1121/10.0034851

Listening for Multiple Mental Health Disorders

Listening for Multiple Mental Health Disorders

Automated analysis of voice can reliably diagnose co-occurring depressive and anxiety disorders in one minute.

Listening for Multiple Mental Health Disorders

Acoustic and phonemic features from recordings and applied machine learning technique can distinguish subjects with and without comorbid AD/MDD. Credit: Hannah Daniel/AIP

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2025 – It’s no secret that there is a mental health crisis in the United States. As of 2021, 8.3% adults had major depressive disorder (MDD) and 19.1% had anxiety disorders (AD), and the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these statistics. Despite the high prevalence of AD/MDD, diagnosis and treatment rates remain low – 36.9% for AD and 61.0% for MDD – due to a variety of social, perceptual, and structural barriers. Automated screening tools can help.

In JASA Express Letters, published on behalf of the Acoustical Society of America by AIP Publishing, researchers developed machine learning tools that screen for comorbid AD/MDD using acoustic voice signals extracted from… click to read more

From: JASA Express Letters
Article: Automated acoustic voice screening techniques for comorbid depression and anxiety disorders
DOI: 10.1121/10.0034851

Machine Listening: Making Speech Recognition Systems More Inclusive

Machine Listening: Making Speech Recognition Systems More Inclusive

Study explores how African American English speakers adapt their speech to be understood by voice technology.

Speech Recognition

African American English speakers adjust rate and pitch based on audience. Credit: Michelle Cohn, Zion Mengesha, Michal Lahav, and Courtney Heldreth

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2024 – Interactions with voice technology, such as Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, and Google Assistant, can make life easier by increasing efficiency and productivity. However, errors in generating and understanding speech during interactions are common. When using these devices, speakers often style-shift their speech from their normal patterns into a louder and… click to read more

From: JASA Express Letters
Article: African American English speakers’ pitch variation and rate adjustments for imagined technological and human addressees
DOI: 10.1121/10.0025484

Lead Vocal Tracks in Popular Music Go Quiet

Lead Vocal Tracks in Popular Music Go Quiet

An analysis of top popular music from 1946 to 2020 shows a marked decrease in volume of the lead vocal track and differences across musical genres.

Estimated lead-to-accompaniment-ratio, LAR, for songs in five genres from 1990-2020. Purple circles correspond to solo artists and green squares to bands. Credit: Kai Siedenburg

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2023 – A general rule of music production involves mixing various soundtracks so the lead singer’s voice is in the foreground. But it is unclear how such track mixing – and closely related lyric intelligibility – has changed over the years.

Scientists from the University of Oldenburg in Germany carried out an analysis of hundreds of popular song recordings from 1946 to 2020 to determine…click to read more

From the Journal: JASA Express Letters
Article: Lead-vocal level in recordings of popular music 1946-2020
DOI: 10.1121/10.0017773