The Intelligibility of Whitened and Amplitude Compressed Speech in a Multitalker Background

1980 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 393-404
Author(s):  
Lamar L. Young ◽  
Jeannette T. Goodman ◽  
Raymond Carhart
Keyword(s):  
Speech Signal ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Target Signal ◽  
Compressed Speech ◽  
Amplitude Compression ◽  
Composite Signal

This experiment determined the effects of amplitude compression on speech intelligibility when both a target speech signal and a competing message were whitened and amplitude compressed. The target CNC discrimination words were electrically mixed with a competing message composed of five talkers. This composite signal was presented to normal hearing subjects in four ways: unmodified, whitened, whitened plus 3:1 amplitude compression and whitened plus 10:1 amplitude compression. Discrimination functions were obtained for the CNC material by varying the signal-to-competition ratio. The unmodified and whitened speech yielded comparable discrimination functions, but reduced discrimination scores were obtained with the whitened plus compressed speech. However, the reduction in speech discrimination for the whitened plus compressed speech was slight and was most evident when the target signal and the competing background were at the same intensity.

Binaural and Monaural Speech Intelligibility in Reverberation

1967 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Moncur ◽  
Donald Dirks
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
The Other ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Interaural Time Differences ◽  
Quiet Condition ◽  
Binaural Listening

Forty-eight subjects with normal hearing were tested to determine binaural and monaural near- and far-ear speech discrimination in various reverberant conditions. One half of the group listened to the recorded PB words in quiet, while the other half received the words with a competing message. Binaural superiority was maintained throughout the study, except in the anechoic-quiet condition. Interaural time differences make a significant contribution to speech intelligibility; and the monaural far ear supplies valuable aid to binaural listening.

A revised speech intelligibility rating (RSIR) test: Listeners with normal hearing

1994 ◽  
Vol 110 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
C SPEAKS ◽  
T TRINE ◽  
T CRAIN ◽  
N NICCUM
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Normal Hearing

Effects of Various Background Noises on Speech Intelligibility of Normal Hearing Subjects

2009 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seong Hee Lee ◽  
Hyun Joon Shim ◽  
Sang Won Yoon ◽  
Kyoung Won Lee
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Normal Hearing

scholarly journals Logatome Discrimination in Cochlear Implant Users: Subjective Tests Compared to the Mismatch Negativity

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 329-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Rahne ◽  
Michael Ziese ◽  
Dorothea Rostalski ◽  
Roland Mühler
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Cochlear Implant ◽  
Mismatch Negativity ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Discrimination Test ◽  
Speech Database ◽  
Automated Speech Recognition ◽  
Related Potentials

This paper describes a logatome discrimination test for the assessment of speech perception in cochlear implant users (CI users), based on a multilingual speech database, the Oldenburg Logatome Corpus, which was originally recorded for the comparison of human and automated speech recognition. The logatome discrimination task is based on the presentation of 100 logatome pairs (i.e., nonsense syllables) with balanced representations of alternating “vowel-replacement” and “consonant-replacement” paradigms in order to assess phoneme confusions. Thirteen adult normal hearing listeners and eight adult CI users, including both good and poor performers, were included in the study and completed the test after their speech intelligibility abilities were evaluated with an established sentence test in noise. Furthermore, the discrimination abilities were measured electrophysiologically by recording the mismatch negativity (MMN) as a component of auditory event-related potentials. The results show a clear MMN response only for normal hearing listeners and CI users with good performance, correlating with their logatome discrimination abilities. Higher discrimination scores for vowel-replacement paradigms than for the consonant-replacement paradigms were found. We conclude that the logatome discrimination test is well suited to monitor the speech perception skills of CI users. Due to the large number of available spoken logatome items, the Oldenburg Logatome Corpus appears to provide a useful and powerful basis for further development of speech perception tests for CI users.

Second Formant Transitions of Selected Consonant-Vowel Combinations in the Speech of Deaf and Normal-Hearing Children

1976 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 279-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall B. Monsen
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Acoustic Cues ◽  
Target Frequency ◽  
Second Formant ◽  
Hearing Children

Although it is well known that the speech produced by the deaf is generally of low intelligibility, the sources of this low speech intelligibility have generally been ascribed either to aberrant articulation of phonemes or inappropriate prosody. This study was designed to determine to what extent a nonsegmental aspect of speech, formant transitions, may differ in the speech of the deaf and of the normal hearing. The initial second formant transitions of the vowels /i/ and /u/ after labial and alveolar consonants (/b, d, f/) were compared in the speech of six normal-hearing and six hearing-impaired adolescents. In the speech of the hearing-impaired subjects, the second formant transitions may be reduced both in time and in frequency. At its onset, the second formant may be nearer to its eventual target frequency than in the speech of the normal subjects. Since formant transitions are important acoustic cues for the adjacent consonants, reduced F 2 transitions may be an important factor in the low intelligibility of the speech of the deaf.

Quantifying the Relation Between Speech Quality and Speech Intelligibility

1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 714-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill E. Preminger ◽  
Dianne J. Van Tasell
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Speech Quality ◽  
Category Rating ◽  
Single Dimension ◽  
Quality Dimensions ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Quality Measurements

The purpose of the present research was to examine the relation between speech quality and speech intelligibility. Speech quality measurements were made using continuous discourse and a category rating procedure for the following dimensions: intelligibility, pleasantness, loudness, effort, and total impression. Measurements were made using a group of listeners with normal hearing for a set of stimulus conditions in which intelligibility varied, and for a set of stimulus conditions in which intelligibility was held constant near 100%. When ratings were made for a set of stimulus conditions in which intelligibility was allowed to vary (a) intersubject reliability was high (i.e., different listeners interpreted the dimensions in a similar manner); and (b) the speech quality dimensions of intelligibility, effort, and loudness were indistinguishable. When ratings were made for a set of stimulus conditions in which intelligibility was held constant (a) intersubject reliability was reduced, indicating that different listeners interpreted the dimensions in different ways; (b) most listeners rated each dimension differently, indicating that the dimensions were unique; and (c) across listeners, no single dimension was highly correlated with total impression. These results can be used in order to examine the relation between speech quality and speech intelligibility.

Effects of Four Noise Competitors on the California Consonant Test

1979 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 354-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey L. Danhauer ◽  
Jonathan G. Leppler
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
White Noise ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
State University ◽  
Speech Discrimination ◽  
Cocktail Party ◽  
Signal To Noise ◽  
Bowling Green State University ◽  
Listening Levels ◽  
Audiologic Testing

Thirty-five normal-hearing listeners' speech discrimination scores were obtained for the California Consonant Test (CCT) in four noise competitors: (1) a four-talker complex (FT), (2) a nine-talker complex developed at Bowling Green State University (BGMTN), (3) cocktail party noise (CPN), and (4) white noise (WN). Five listeners received the CCT stimuli mixed ipsilaterally with each of the competing noises at one of seven different signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns). Articulation functions were plotted for each noise competitor. Statistical analysis revealed that the noise types produced few differences on the CCT scores over most of the S/Ns tested, but that noise competitors similar to peripheral maskers (CPN and WN) had less effect on the scores at more severe levels than competitors more similar to perceptual maskers (FT and BGMTN). Results suggest that the CCT should be sufficiently difficult even without the presence of a noise competitor for normal-hearing listeners in many audiologic testing situations. Levels that should approximate CCT maximum discrimination (D-Max) scores for normal listeners are suggested for use when clinic time does not permit the establishment of articulation functions. The clinician should determine the S/N of the CCT tape itself before establishing listening levels.

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