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Syllable-constituent perception by hearing-aid users: Common factors in quiet and noise
James D Miller1, Charles S Watson1, Marjorie R Leek2
1Communication Disorders Technology, Inc., Bloomington, Indiana 47408, USA.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|May 4, 2017
Summary
Hearing aid users
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Speech Perception
- Hearing Science
Background:
- Hearing aids aim to improve speech understanding, but challenges remain, especially in noisy environments.
- Phonetic detail perception is crucial for clear speech comprehension.
- Understanding factors affecting speech perception in hearing aid users is vital for audiological rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the ability of adult hearing aid users to perceive phonetic details in quiet and noise.
- To determine the relationship between phonetic perception in quiet versus noisy conditions.
Main Methods:
- 59 adult hearing aid users identified syllable constituents (onsets, nuclei, codas) in quiet and in 12-talker babble noise.
- Stimuli included 109 frequently occurring constituents spoken by 8 talkers in varied contexts.
- Speech-to-noise ratios (SNRs) varied, including 40 dB in quiet and typical noisy situation SNRs.
Main Results:
- Listener scores in quiet ranged from 23% to 85% correct.
- Scores in noise averaged across common SNRs ranged from 10% to 71% correct.
- Scores in quiet and noise were highly correlated (R = 0.96).
Conclusions:
- Common factors significantly influence phonetic detail perception in both quiet and noisy environments for hearing aid users.
- Difficulties perceiving phonetic details in noise are closely linked to difficulties in quiet.
- These findings suggest that improving quiet listening skills may benefit speech perception in noise for hearing aid users.
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