title: Susceptibility to interference by music and speech maskers in middle-aged adults.
abstract: Older listeners commonly complain about difficulty in understanding speech in noise. Previous studies have shown an age effect for both speech and steady noise maskers, and it is largest for speech maskers. In the present study, speech reception thresholds (SRTs) measured with competing speech, music, and steady noise maskers significantly differed between young (19 to 26 years) and middle-aged (51 to 63 years) adults. SRT differences ranged from 2.1 dB for competing speech, 0.4-1.6 dB for music maskers, and 0.8 dB for steady noise. The data suggest that aging effects are already evident in middle-aged adults without significant hearing impairment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands d.baskent@umcg.nl.
authors.forename: Deniz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Başkent
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands s.van.engelshoven@student.rug.nl.
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: van Engelshoven
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands jgalvin@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Galvin
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001302:Audiometry, Speech; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D032882:Comprehension; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009146:Music; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult