Speech sounds: evaluation of a device for their visual presentation

Two experiments were designed to evaluate a prototype device developed to provide a visual presentation of speech sounds as a potential assistive device for hearing-imparied persons. In the 1st experiment, the ability of adults with unimpaired hearing to recognize the visual patterns of 3 vowels spoken by 3 different speakers was assessed, and in the 2nd experiment, visual and auditory distinctiveness of the 3 vowels was compared. Results showed that subjects received different speech information from the Visual Speech Spectrum Analyzer (VISSA) and the normal auditory system; however, differences were judged minor. The device has potential as a speech therapy aid and may prove helpful to hearing imparied persons.