title: Effects of training on speech recognition performance in noise using lexically hard words.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examined how repeated presentations of lexically difficult words within a background noise affect a listener's ability to understand both trained (lexically difficult) and untrained (lexically easy) words in isolation and within sentences.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the 1st experiment, 9 young listeners with normal hearing completed a short-term auditory training protocol (5 hr) while 8 other young listeners with normal hearing completed a similar protocol lasting about 15 hr in the 2nd experiment. All training made use of multiple talkers and was in a closed-set condition. Feedback was provided on a trial-to-trial basis and consisted of either orthographic or orthographic and auditory feedback. Performance on both the trained and untrained words in isolation and within sentences was measured pre- and posttraining.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Listeners' performance improved significantly for the trained words in an open and closed-set condition, as well as the untrained words in the closed-set condition. Although there was no mean improvement in the number of keywords identified within sentences posttraining, 50% of the listeners who completed the long-term training showed improvement beyond the 95% critical difference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With enough training on isolated words, individual listeners can generalize knowledge gained through isolated word training to the recognition of lexically similar words in running speech.
authors.affiliation: Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Indiana University, 200 South Jordan Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405-7002, USA. maburk@indiana.edu
authors.forename: Matthew H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Burk
authors.forename: Larry E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Humes
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects; D010700:Phonetics; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D013067:Speech Perception; D013663:Teaching; D014825:Vocabulary