Fundamental frequency and speech intelligibility in background noise.
Speech reception in noise is an especially difficult problem for listeners with hearing impairment as well as for users of cochlear implants (CIs). One likely cause of this is an inability to 'glimpse' a target talker in a fluctuating background, which has been linked to deficits in temporal fine-structure processing. A fine-structure cue that has the potential to be beneficial for speech reception in noise is fundamental frequency (F0). A challenging problem, however, is delivering the cue to these individuals. The benefits to speech intelligibility of F0 for both listeners with hearing impairment and users of CIs are reviewed, as well as various methods of delivering F0 to these listeners.
Brown
Christopher A
CA
Department of Speech and Hearing Science, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 870102, Tempe, AZ 85287, United States. c-b@asu.edu <c-b@asu.edu>
Bacon
Sid P
SP
D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D009622:Noise; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D010897:Pitch Discrimination; D017603:Signal Detection, Psychological; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception; D013997:Time Factors