title: Influence of noise type on speech reception thresholds across four languages measured with matrix sentence tests.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare speech reception thresholds (SRTs) in noise using matrix sentence tests in four languages: German, Spanish, Russian, Polish.
  
  
  METHODS
  The four tests were composed of equivalent five-word sentences and were all designed and optimized using the same principles. Six stationary speech-shaped noises and three non-stationary noises were used as maskers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty native listeners with normal hearing: 10 for each language.
  
  
  RESULTS
  SRTs were about 3 dB higher for the German and Spanish tests than for the Russian and Polish tests when stationary noise was used that matched the long-term frequency spectrum of the respective speech test materials. This general SRT difference was also observed for the other stationary noises. The within-test variability across noise conditions differed between languages. About 56% of the observed variance was predicted by the speech intelligibility index. The observed SRT benefit in fluctuating noise was similar for all tests, with a slightly smaller benefit for the Spanish test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Of the stationary noises employed, noise with the same spectrum as the speech yielded the best masking. SRT differences across languages and noises could be attributed in part to spectral differences. These findings provide the feasibility and limits of comparing audiological results across languages.
authors.affiliation: a * Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all & Medizinische Physik, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg , Oldenburg , Germany.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hochmuth
authors.affiliation: a * Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all & Medizinische Physik, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg , Oldenburg , Germany.|b HoerTech gGmbH , Oldenburg , Germany.
authors.forename: Birger
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kollmeier
authors.affiliation: a * Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all & Medizinische Physik, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg , Oldenburg , Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.affiliation: a * Cluster of Excellence Hearing4all & Medizinische Physik, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg , Oldenburg , Germany.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jürgens
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000162:Acoustics; D000328:Adult; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019303:Multilingualism; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception; D013069:Speech Reception Threshold Test / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: German; Polish; Russian; Spanish; Speech reception threshold (SRT); fluctuating noise; intelligibility; matrix sentence test; multitalker babble; speech intelligibility index (SII); stationary noise