Speech perception in individuals with auditory dys-synchrony.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to evaluate the effect of lengthening the transition duration of selected speech segments upon the perception of those segments in individuals with auditory dys-synchrony.


METHODS
Thirty individuals with auditory dys-synchrony participated in the study, along with 30 age-matched normal hearing listeners. Eight consonant-vowel syllables were used as auditory stimuli. Two experiments were conducted. Experiment one measured the 'just noticeable difference' time: the smallest prolongation of the speech sound transition duration which was noticeable by the subject. In experiment two, speech sounds were modified by lengthening the transition duration by multiples of the just noticeable difference time, and subjects' speech identification scores for the modified speech sounds were assessed.


RESULTS
Subjects with auditory dys-synchrony demonstrated poor processing of temporal auditory information. Lengthening of speech sound transition duration improved these subjects' perception of both the placement and voicing features of the speech syllables used.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that innovative speech processing strategies which enhance temporal cues may benefit individuals with auditory dys-synchrony.
Kumar
U A
UA
Department of Audiology and Speech Language Pathology, Kasturba Medial College (a unit of Manipal University), Mangalore, India. ajithkumar18@gmail.com
Jayaram
M
M
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem; D005260:Female; D006313:Hearing Loss, Central / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017084:Otoacoustic Emissions, Spontaneous; D010700:Phonetics; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013063:Speech Discrimination Tests / Q000379:methods; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult