The relation between speaking-style categorization and speech recognition in adult cochlear implant users

The current study examined the relation between speaking-style categorization and speech recognition in post-lingually deafened adult cochlear implant users and normal-hearing listeners tested under 4- and 8-channel acoustic noise-vocoder cochlear implant simulations. Across all listeners, better speaking-style categorization of careful read and casual conversation speech was associated with more accurate recognition of speech across those same two speaking styles. Findings suggest that some cochlear implant users and normal-hearing listeners under cochlear implant simulation may benefit from stronger encoding of indexical information in speech, enabling both better categorization and recognition of speech produced in different speaking styles.