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Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody

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Individual differences in the perception of phonetic category structure predict speech-in-noise performance.

Emily Myers^1,2, Matthew Phillips¹, Erika Skoe¹

¹Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut 06268, USA.

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

|September 13, 2024

Summary

Individual differences in phonetic perception aid speech-in-noise performance in adults. This sensitivity to speech sound categories is a key factor in understanding speech, especially in noisy environments.

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Area of Science:

Auditory perception
Psychoacoustics
Cognitive neuroscience

Background:

Speech-in-noise performance declines with age, but hearing ability alone doesn't fully explain these changes.
Individual differences in cognitive and perceptual factors are increasingly recognized as crucial for speech comprehension in challenging conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if individual differences in phonetic category sensitivity predict speech-in-noise performance across the adult lifespan.
To determine if phonetic perception abilities mediate understanding speech in noisy environments.

Main Methods:

Adults aged 18–67 years completed online assessments of phonetic category sensitivity.
Participants also underwent questionnaires on noise exposure and demographic factors.
Speech-in-noise perception was evaluated using a dedicated test.

Main Results:

Sensitivity to phonetic categories, specifically two consonant contrasts, significantly predicted speech-in-noise performance.
This predictive relationship remained significant after controlling for age and recent noise exposure.

Conclusions:

Individual differences in phonetic category perception play a vital role in speech-in-noise understanding.
Phonetic sensitivity is a key mediator for successful speech perception in challenging auditory environments.