Speech recognition in noise by hearing-impaired and noise-masked normal-hearing listeners.
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.
Needleman
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AR
Callier Center for Communication Disorders, University of Texas-Dallas 75235, USA.
Crandell
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CC
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