Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Johannes Zaar, Laurel H. Carney
Summary: This study presents a major update and full evaluation of a speech intelligibility (SI) prediction model. The model accurately predicts SI in speech-in-noise conditions and takes into account individual hearing loss. It provides a useful tool for predicting speech-in-noise outcomes in normal-hearing (NH) and hearing-impaired (HI) listeners.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Raphael Cueille, Mathieu Lavandier, Nicolas Grimault
Summary: Reverberation can have a negative impact on speech intelligibility in noise, affecting both the understanding of the speech and the listening opportunity in noise dips. This study aimed to investigate whether hearing-impaired listeners are more affected by reverberation and to identify the responsible effects. The results showed that at the optimal signal-to-noise ratios, reverberation had a similar effect on both hearing-impaired and normal-hearing listeners, indicating that it was not more detrimental for the hearing-impaired listeners.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Bo Wang, Xiran Xu, Yadong Niu, Chao Wu, Xihong Wu, Jing Chen
Summary: This study used auditory attention decoding (AAD) to determine the attended speaker and found that both visual input and increasing target-to-masker ratio (TMR) can enhance cortical tracking of the attended speech and improve AAD accuracy for hearing-impaired listeners. The results also showed significant correlations between auditory abilities (including auditory amplitude modulation sensitivity and hearing thresholds) and the cortical tracking of attended speech.
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Jan Rennies, Anna Warzybok, Birger Kollmeier, Thomas Brand
Summary: Speech recognition in rooms is influenced by the integration of reflections with a certain time delay after the direct sound. Previous studies have suggested that early reflections within a 50-100 ms window are useful, while later reflections are detrimental. However, a recent study challenged this concept and found that normal-hearing listeners can focus on late reflections when they are more favorable in terms of amplitude or interaural phase differences. This present study investigated speech intelligibility in hearing-impaired listeners under similar conditions and found that they were generally less able to ignore the direct sound, especially when the most useful information was confined to late reflections.
Article
Acoustics
Marek Niewiarowicz, Andrzej Wicher, Aleksander Sek, Tomasz Gorecki
Summary: The study aimed to investigate the effects of tinnitus and degree of hearing loss on speech intelligibility in noise. The results showed that tinnitus patients with normal hearing had higher Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) values when speech was presented in background noise compared to normally hearing individuals. The presence of tinnitus in the mid and high frequency range had a significant effect on increasing SRT in normally hearing patients and those with mild hearing loss, while for higher degrees of hearing loss, the hearing loss itself, rather than tinnitus, determined the deterioration of speech intelligibility.
SPEECH COMMUNICATION
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Katrina S. McClannahan, Amelia Mainardi, Austin Luor, Yi-Fang Chiu, Mitchell S. Sommers, Jonathan E. Peelle
Summary: Difficulty understanding speech is a common complaint of older adults. This study examines the impact of mild dementia on spoken word recognition in quiet and noise environments. Results show that listeners with mild dementia symptoms have more difficulty with speech perception, even in quiet, suggesting a role of cognitive resources in spoken word identification.
JOURNAL OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE
(2022)
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Johannes Zaar, Lisbeth Birkelund Simonsen, Torsten Dau, Soren Laugesen
Summary: This study explored a measurement paradigm of individualized audibility compensation for STM detection, aiming to be a real-life supra-threshold speech intelligibility predictor. The proposed method yielded robust STM thresholds for all listeners and conditions. STM thresholds were positively correlated with speech reception thresholds, with significant correlations found for the realistic speech-test condition. Three STM stimulus variants significantly predicted speech reception thresholds, explaining up to 53% of the variance. The results of the study could be the basis for a clinically viable STM test for quantifying supra-threshold speech reception deficits in aided hearing-impaired listeners.
Article
Acoustics
Ye-Jee Jung, Olga Dmitrieva
Summary: This study examined the benefit of clear speech for intelligibility among native and non-native listeners. Both native and non-native speech were tested, as well as the combinations of native and non-native listeners. Results showed that native English speech and listeners had higher intelligibility than non-native speech and listeners. Clear speech was also more intelligible than casual speech. The study found no significant differences in intelligibility benefit among different combinations of talkers and listeners, indicating that shared first language background did not provide additional benefits.
JOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Mishaela DiNino, Lori L. Holt, Barbara G. Shinn-Cunningham
Summary: Following a conversation in a crowded environment can be challenging for individuals with normal hearing thresholds. Previous studies have investigated whether noise-induced cochlear synaptopathy (CS) contributes to speech perception difficulties, but the results have been mixed. Our review suggests that the mixed results may be due to the fact that previous studies used speech perception tasks that are relatively insensitive to CS-induced deficits.
Article
Acoustics
Candy Olivia Mawalim, Benita Angela Titalim, Shogo Okada, Masashi Unoki
Summary: This paper proposes a non-intrusive auditory model for predicting speech intelligibility under hearing loss conditions. By using binaural signals from hearing aids, audiograms, and additional acoustic features, the method demonstrates improved robustness in noisy and reverberant environments.
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Emmanuel Ponsot, Leo Varnet, Nicolas Wallaert, Elza Daoud, Shihab A. Shamma, Christian Lorenzi, Peter Neri
Summary: Spectrotemporal modulations are important features of speech signals for intelligibility, and this study investigates how they are processed in individuals with normal hearing and hearing loss. The research shows that both groups rely on a similar processing cascade, with hearing loss primarily linked to broader cochlear filters. However, there are idiosyncratic behaviors that cannot be explained solely by cochlear tuning, emphasizing the need to consider additional mechanisms for variability.
Article
Acoustics
Hinako Masuda, Yusuke Hioka, C. T. Justine Hui, Jesin James, Catherine I. Watson
Summary: This study investigates the effect of speech masking on native and non-native listeners, comparing the effectiveness of different types of maskers in preserving speech privacy and their levels of annoyance. The results show that language background significantly affects the performance of unmasked speech, the difference between non-native listeners becomes minimal with maskers, and different listener groups are annoyed by maskers to varying degrees.
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Ana'am Alkharabsheh, Ola Aboudi, Khader Abdulbaqi, Soha Garadat
Summary: Wearing a face mask can affect word recognition in hearing-impaired individuals, with a greater impact observed in noisy conditions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Bethany Plain, Hidde Pielage, Michael Richter, Tanveer A. Bhuiyan, Thomas Lunner, Sophia E. Kramer, Adriana A. Zekveld
Summary: This study aimed to manipulate success importance by adding observers to traditional laboratory set-up. It found that cardiovascular reactivity increased in the presence of observers among hearing-impaired participants, with systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressure showing notable increases. Interestingly, subjective ratings were sensitive only to intelligibility level, not to the observation state.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Kaylah Lalonde, Emily Buss, Margaret K. Miller, Lori J. Leibold
Summary: This study examined the effects of different types of face masks on auditory and audiovisual speech recognition in children and adults with and without hearing loss. The results showed that all groups were similarly impacted by face masks, with hospital masks having the least impact under auditory-only conditions and transparent masks having less impact than opaque masks under audiovisual conditions. High-frequency attenuation and visual obstruction had the greatest impact on place perception.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)