Consonant recognition and confusion patterns among elderly hearing-impaired subjects

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Gerontology
• Speech Perception

Background:

• Hearing loss is prevalent in the elderly population.
• Sensorineural hearing loss can impact speech understanding.
• Understanding consonant recognition is crucial for effective communication.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate consonant recognition and confusion patterns in elderly listeners with varying degrees of hearing loss.
• To determine if hearing loss influences specific speech perception patterns.

Main Methods:

• Assessed recognition of 19 consonants in a consonant-vowel format for listeners aged over 65.
• Included participants with normal hearing and gradually or sharply sloping sensorineural hearing losses.
• Speech stimuli were presented in a babble background at a +6 dB signal-to-babble ratio.

Main Results:

• Normal-hearing subjects outperformed hearing-impaired subjects in overall nonsense syllable recognition.
• Analyses of consonant place, manner, and voicing categories showed performance differences based on hearing status.
• Individual differences scaling analysis did not reveal unique speech perception patterns specific to listener groups.

Conclusions:

• Hearing loss in elderly listeners affects the overall level of speech recognition performance.
• The specific patterns of consonant confusion appear consistent regardless of hearing loss presence or configuration in this age group.
• Further research may clarify the nuanced relationship between hearing loss and speech perception patterns in older adults.