Shen Jing, Souza Pamela E
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2017 Sep 18;60(9):2725-2739. doi: 10.1044/2017_JSLHR-H-16-0389.
This study investigated the effect of dynamic pitch in target speech on older and younger listeners' speech recognition in temporally modulated noise. First, we examined whether the benefit from dynamic-pitch cues depends on the temporal modulation of noise. Second, we tested whether older listeners can benefit from dynamic-pitch cues for speech recognition in noise. Last, we explored the individual factors that predict the amount of dynamic-pitch benefit for speech recognition in noise.
Younger listeners with normal hearing and older listeners with varying levels of hearing sensitivity participated in the study, in which speech reception thresholds were measured with sentences in nonspeech noise.
The younger listeners benefited more from dynamic pitch for speech recognition in temporally modulated noise than unmodulated noise. Older listeners were able to benefit from the dynamic-pitch cues but received less benefit from noise modulation than the younger listeners. For those older listeners with hearing loss, the amount of hearing loss strongly predicted the dynamic-pitch benefit for speech recognition in noise.
Dynamic-pitch cues aid speech recognition in noise, particularly when noise has temporal modulation. Hearing loss negatively affects the dynamic-pitch benefit to older listeners with significant hearing loss.
本研究调查了目标语音中的动态音高对老年和年轻听众在时间调制噪声中的语音识别的影响。首先，我们研究了动态音高线索带来的益处是否取决于噪声的时间调制。其次，我们测试了老年听众在噪声中的语音识别是否能从动态音高线索中获益。最后，我们探究了预测噪声中语音识别动态音高益处量的个体因素。
听力正常的年轻听众和听力敏感度不同的老年听众参与了本研究，其中在非语音噪声中用句子测量语音接收阈值。
在时间调制噪声中，年轻听众从动态音高中获得的语音识别益处比在未调制噪声中更多。老年听众能够从动态音高线索中获益，但与年轻听众相比，从噪声调制中获得的益处较少。对于那些有听力损失的老年听众，听力损失程度强烈预测了噪声中语音识别的动态音高益处。
动态音高线索有助于噪声中的语音识别，尤其是当噪声有时间调制时。听力损失对有明显听力损失的老年听众的动态音高益处有负面影响。
