Individual sensitivity to spectral and temporal cues in listeners with hearing impairment

The present study was designed to evaluate use of spectral and temporal cues under conditions in which both types of cues were available.

Participants included adults with normal hearing and hearing loss. We focused on 3 categories of speech cues: static spectral (spectral shape), dynamic spectral (formant change), and temporal (amplitude envelope). Spectral and/or temporal dimensions of synthetic speech were systematically manipulated along a continuum, and recognition was measured using the manipulated stimuli. Level was controlled to ensure cue audibility. Discriminant function analysis was used to determine to what degree spectral and temporal information contributed to the identification of each stimulus.

Listeners with normal hearing were influenced to a greater extent by spectral cues for all stimuli. Listeners with hearing impairment generally utilized spectral cues when the information was static (spectral shape) but used temporal cues when the information was dynamic (formant transition). The relative use of spectral and temporal dimensions varied among individuals, especially among listeners with hearing loss.

Information about spectral and temporal cue use may aid in identifying listeners who rely to a greater extent on particular acoustic cues and applying that information toward therapeutic interventions.