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Neuroscience facility simulates listening environments using Genelec

The Universidad de Salamanca (USAL) located within the Instituto de Neurociencias de Castilla y León, which houses the Acoustic-Hearing Evaluation Unit (UNEVA), recently invested in Genelec 8020 studio monitors to simulate listening in diverse sound environments.

UNEVAconducts advanced research into hearing aid and implant technology and is regarded as a leading infrastructure for hearing technology in the region.

The unit is available for use in research involving perception experiments with healthy individuals and those afflicted with diseases, as well as theoretical neuroscience and computational model development.

It also supports research on improving hearing implants, hearing aids and other hearing devices, as well as diagnostic methods for individuals with hearing impairments. Additionally, the unit is employed to demonstrate the efficacy of new sound processing for hearing aids and the benefits of new devices to users.

The computational models developed in this laboratory serve to simulate how the healthy auditory system works, and how the representation of sound in a listener’s brain would be altered when there is disease or injury.

We can simulate how sounds are encoded in the healthy ear and how they stop being encoded when there is damage.

"In this way we can simulate how sounds are encoded in the healthy ear and how they stop being encoded when there is damage," explained Professor Enrique López Poveda, director of UNEVA.

"And since we have the models that simulate the behaviour of the healthy ear, we can use them as a basis to build hearing aids or hearing implants. That is, you have an algorithm that reproduces the behaviour of the healthy ear, and when the ear is altered, we use that algorithm to reproduce what is failing, and rebuild it."

The variable acoustics room is the primary location for research on hearing aids and cochlear implants. Studies have shown that individuals with hearing impairments struggle to understand speech in reverberant environments and noisy settings. To address these issues, the room has been designed to test various technologies.

The room is shielded electrically and soundproofed, with adjustable panels for controlling reverberation and absorption levels to simulate real-world environments. A 3m diameter ring of 24 8020 monitors, supplied by Audio-Technica Iberia, is at the core of the space, enabling researchers to manipulate background noise levels.

"A typical test is to reproduce a phrase, word or conversation in the presence of other phrases, words, or noise coming from other sources," explained Poveda.

"For example, a sentence is played through one monitor, and the listener would have to repeat it while other monitors are playing background noise and other speech sources. If they correctly repeat what they have heard, we raise the noise level. The more noise and the more phrases used, the more difficult it is to properly understand the main phrase."

The 8020 model was chosen for its reliability, neutral sound, and adaptability to the listening environment. The monitors are proving important for the UNEVA's research, which demands high accuracy and consistency.

Plans to expand the project include the possibility of building a sphere by adding more monitors to the existing ring.