title: Recognition of low-pass filtered words in a noisy and reverberant environment with and without earmuffs.
abstract: The effect of earmuffs on the recognition of low-pass filtered Finnish speech test material was investigated by presenting both the unfiltered and filtered words at two speech levels, 60 dB(A) and 85 dB(A) to a group of students with normal hearing. The background noise level (quiet, S/N +10, +5, 0 dB) and reverberation time (2.1 s and 1.6 s) were altered in a multi-purpose hall. Unfiltered words were recognized better without earmuffs in quiet conditions and at S/N +10 and +5 dB. At S/N 0 dB, however, better scores were obtained when earmuffs were used. Filtered words were recognized significantly better without earmuffs at both reverberation times and at all S/N conditions tested. The decrease in the reverberation time improved all the recognition scores essentially.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Turku University Central Hospital, Finland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pekkarinen
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Viljanen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salmivalli
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suonpää
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004430:Ear Protective Devices; D005387:Finland; D006316:Hearing Loss, High-Frequency / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009622:Noise; D009623:Noise, Occupational / Q000009:adverse effects; D013067:Speech Perception