Technology to rid events of audio issues stemming from bad microphones and hard-to-hear speech will revolutionise the experience of events for those with hearing impairments .
Announced as an add-on to its event interpretation platform , Interprefy Clarifier applies the science of psychoacoustics to make crucial elements of speech more audible . Key parts of the sound are restored or boosted , ensuring words are simpler and quicker to decipher against factors such as poorquality microphones and hardto-hear speech .
Oddmund Braaten , CEO at Interprefy , says : “ Interprefy Clarifier will make speech clearer for many with a hearing disability . Of course , it cannot help the deaf or those with profoundly restricted hearing , but it will help many that have some form of hearing loss . The simplest way to explain this is that it makes comprehension easier for everyone . Those with better hearing decode the speech faster and can cope with lower-quality original content . Those with hearing which is not as good will find similar improvement in their comprehension too , only starting from a different level .
“ This was built into the thinking and is not an accident . While Clarifier can have a positive impact for individuals with impaired hearing , we also provide specialised language access tools through sign language interpretation and closed captioning .
“ We tend to divide the world into hearing and
Loud and clear
Improving audio quality at events improves accessibility to those with hearing impairments . Interpretation platform Interprefy tell EN their new add-on applying the science of psychoacoustics makes crucial elements of speech more audible
“ We tend to divide the world into hearing and hearing impaired , but this is not a true picture . The truth is that no one has perfect hearing and that everyone ’ s ability is different .”
hearing impaired , but this is not a true picture . The truth is that no one has perfect hearing and that everyone ’ s ability is different . Whatever
Oddmund Braten
your hearing performance is today , it won ’ t be as good in a few years ’ time . When we make an innovation like Interprefy Clarifier , it is to help everyone no matter what point of the hearing scale they are on . If it only worked for people with perfect hearing it would be more or less useless . It is designed to take interpreters through at least a
reasonable working life with a degree of hearing loss , but also to benefit those who have experienced greater loss as well to ensure the Interprefy platform and events are more inclusive .”
Available for listeners and interpreters , Clarifier can be switched on or off by each user within their soft-console or user interface . When enabled , each word becomes easier to identify from potentially confusable and similarsounding terms .
The technology also has the potential to significantly improve automatic speechto-text captions accuracy in inferior sound conditions .
“ We ’ re focusing on the clarity of the spoken word . Clarifier is able to pick out the fleeting and fragile parts of speech - the sibilant , plosive and transient components - and maximise their audibility . The wonderful way the brain works is that with these key components secured , the other parts become clearer too ,” Braaten says . EN
December — 21