Word recognition performance in continuous and interrupted broad-band noise by normal-hearing and simulated hearing-impaired listeners.
Word recognition performance was investigated in 12 normal-hearing young adults in continuous and interrupted broad-band noise as a function of signal-to-noise ratio (S:N) with and without a simulated high frequency hearing loss (i.e., low-pass filtered at 2000 Hz). Subjects exhibited conventional sigmoid performance-intensity functions in continuous noise, for both unfiltered and filtered conditions. In contrast, subjects demonstrated shallower performance-intensity functions in the interrupted noise conditions with overall superior performance under adverse signal-to-noise ratios relative to the continuous noise conditions. Separate two-way analyses of variances investigating mean word recognition performance differences as a function of normal listening (unfiltered) versus the simulated hearing loss (filtered). Signal-to-noise ratio for both continuous and interrupted noise conditions revealed a significant main effects for S:N with both noise conditions (p < .05) and a significant main effect for the simulated hearing loss only in the interrupted noise condition (p < .05). It was hypothesized that subjects' diminished performance in the interrupted noise condition with the stimulated high frequency hearing loss reflected a reduced ability to temporally resolve auditory information between the gaps of noise.
Stuart
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A
Department of Psychology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Phillips
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DP
Green
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WB
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D005260:Female; D006316:Hearing Loss, High-Frequency; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010897:Pitch Discrimination; D012016:Reference Values; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013063:Speech Discrimination Tests; D013067:Speech Perception