Applications of automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech technologies for hearing assessment: a scoping review

Exploring applications of automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech technologies in hearing assessment and evaluations of hearing aids. Review protocol was registered at the INPLASY database and was performed following the PRISMA scoping review guidelines. A search in ten databases was conducted in January 2023 and updated in June 2024. Studies that used automatic speech recognition or text-to-speech to assess measures of hearing ability (e.g. speech reception threshold), or to configure hearing aids were retrieved. Of the 2942 records found, 28 met the inclusion criteria. The results indicated that text-to-speech could effectively replace recorded stimuli in speech intelligibility tests, requiring less effort for experimenters, without negatively impacting outcomes (n = 5). Automatic speech recognition captured verbal responses accurately, allowing for reliable speech reception threshold measurements without human supervision (n = 7). Moreover, automatic speech recognition was employed to simulate participants’ hearing, with high correlations between simulated and empirical data (n = 14). Finally, automatic speech recognition was used to optimise hearing aid configurations, leading to higher speech intelligibility for wearers compared to the original configuration (n = 3). There is the potential for automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech systems to enhance accessibility of, and efficiency in, hearing assessments, offering unsupervised testing options, and facilitating hearing aid personalisation.本研究探索自动语音识别（automatic speech recognition）与文本转语音（text-to-speech）技术在听力评估及助听器性能评估中的应用场景。本综述的研究方案已在INPLASY数据库注册，并严格遵循PRISMA范围综述指南开展。研究于2023年1月对10个数据库进行了文献检索，并于2024年6月完成检索更新。最终检索得到采用自动语音识别或文本转语音技术开展听力能力评估（如言语接受阈值），或用于配置助听器的相关研究。在检索得到的2942条文献记录中，共有28项研究符合纳入标准。研究结果显示，文本转语音技术可在言语清晰度测试中有效替代录制的语音刺激材料，能够减少实验人员的工作量，且不会对测试结果产生负面影响（共5项相关研究）。自动语音识别技术可精准捕捉言语应答，无需人工监督即可完成可靠的言语接受阈值测量（共7项相关研究）。此外，自动语音识别技术可用于模拟受试者的听力状况，模拟数据与实测数据间具有高度相关性（共14项相关研究）。最后，自动语音识别技术可用于优化助听器配置方案，相较于初始配置，能够提升佩戴者的言语清晰度（共3项相关研究）。综上，自动语音识别与文本转语音系统有望提升听力评估的可及性与效率，提供无需人工值守的测试方案，并助力助听器的个性化定制。