The effect of age and hearing loss on the identification of synthetic /b, d, g/-stimuli.
A series of speech identification tests using 15 synthetic consonant-vowel syllables with variations in second and third formant transitions were conducted in different age groups with normal hearing and a group of older subjects with a sensorineural hearing loss. Varying degree of categorical perception of three distinct phoneme categories /b, d, g/ was observed in all groups. Responses were depending on start frequency and gliding direction of second and third formant transitions. In the group of 60-80-year-old persons with a hearing loss response percentages were significantly lower and error frequency high. Furthermore, category shift boundaries changed as compared with the group of 20-40 years old. Results in a group of children age 8-15 years, were rather similar to those in the 20-40-year-old group. Both age and age-induced sensorineural hearing loss seemed to influence elderly people's ability to identity the synthetic speech stimuli.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010700:Phonetics; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013067:Speech Perception