Effects of ear canal occlusion and masking on the perception of voice.
This study examined the effect of ear canal occlusion and masking noise on four parameters of voice: (1) average fundamental frequency, (2) intensity in decibel (dB), (3) maximum fundamental frequency observed in a given sample (max), and (4) minimum fundamental frequency observed in a given sample (min). 12 normal hearing undergraduates produced the vowel /i/ ten times under conditions of unoccluded ear canal, ear canal occluded with a sound attenuating earplug, or masking noise. Other than a small (.73 dB) decrease in intensity, analysis showed no significant changes under the occluded condition; however, the masking condition showed statistically significant increases in the fundamental frequency, the intensity, and the maximum and minimum frequency as well as an increased range of frequencies.
Navarro
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School of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Ohio University, Athens 45701, USA.
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006314:Hearing Loss, Conductive / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D010700:Phonetics; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D012683:Sensory Deprivation; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013067:Speech Perception; D014705:Verbal Behavior