title: Speech recognition in noise by hearing-impaired and noise-masked normal-hearing listeners.
abstract: A prevailing complaint among individuals with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is difficulty understanding speech, particularly under adverse listening conditions. The present investigation compared the speech-recognition abilities of listeners with mild to moderate degrees of SNHL to normal-hearing individuals with simulated hearing impairments, accomplished using spectrally shaped masking noise. Speech-perception ability was assessed using the predictability-high sentences from the Speech Perception in Noise test. Results revealed significant differences between groups in sentential-recognition ability, with the hearing-impaired subjects performing poorer than the masked-normal listeners. These findings suggest the presence of a secondary distortion degrading sentential-recognition ability in the hearing impaired, implications of these data will be discussed concerning the mechanism(s) responsible for speech perception in the hearing impaired.
authors.affiliation: Callier Center for Communication Disorders, University of Texas-Dallas 75235, USA.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Needleman
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Crandell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D006309:Hearing; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D013067:Speech Perception; D013069:Speech Reception Threshold Test