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Effect of masks on speech intelligibility in auralized classrooms
Pasquale Bottalico1, Silvia Murgia1, Giuseppina Emma Puglisi2
1Department of Speech and Hearing Science, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois 61820, USA.
Abstract:
This study explored the effects of wearing face masks on classroom communication. The effects of three different types of face masks (fabric, surgical, and N95 masks) on speech intelligibility (SI) presented to college students in auralized classrooms were evaluated. To simulate realistic classroom conditions, speech stimuli were presented in the presence of speech-shaped noise with a signal-to-noise ratio of +3 dB under two different reverberation times (0.4 s and 3.1 s). The use of fabric masks yielded a significantly greater reduction in SI compared to the other masks. Therefore, surgical masks or N95 masks are recommended in teaching environments.
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