Variability in the clear speech intelligibility advantage

2005 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 1931-1931
Author(s):  
Kenneth Konopka ◽  
Rajka Smiljanic ◽  
Ann Bradlow
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Clear Speech

scholarly journals The adverse effect of wearing a face mask during the COVID-19 pandemic and benefits of wearing transparent face masks and using clear speech on speech intelligibility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoyoung Yi ◽  
Ashly Pingsterhaus ◽  
Woonyoung Song
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effect ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Presentation Mode ◽  
Clear Speech

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in recommended/required use of a face mask in public. The use of a face mask compromises communication, especially in the presence of competing noise. It is crucial to measure potential adverse effect(s) of wearing face masks on speech intelligibility in communication contexts where excessive background noise occurs to lead to solutions for this communication challenge. Accordingly, effects of wearing transparent face masks and using clear speech to support better verbal communication was evaluated here. We evaluated listener word identification scores in the following four conditions: (1) type of masking (i.e., no mask, transparent mask, and disposable paper mask), (2) presentation mode (i.e., auditory only and audiovisual), (3) speaker speaking style (i.e., conversational speech and clear speech), and (4) with two types of background noise (i.e., speech shaped noise and four-talker babble at negative 5 signal to noise ratio levels). Results showed that in the presence of noise, listeners performed less well when the speaker wore a disposable paper mask or a transparent mask compared to wearing no mask. Listeners correctly identified more words in the audiovisual when listening to clear speech. Results indicate the combination of face masks and the presence of background noise impact speech intelligibility negatively for listeners. Transparent masks facilitate the ability to understand target sentences by providing visual information. Use of clear speech was shown to alleviate challenging communication situations including lack of visual cues and reduced acoustic signal.

Enhancing Speech Intelligibility: Interactions Among Context, Modality, Speech Style, and Masker

2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
pp. 1908-1918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin J. Van Engen ◽  
Jasmine E. B. Phelps ◽  
Rajka Smiljanic ◽  
Bharath Chandrasekaran
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Semantic Context ◽  
Visual Input ◽  
Conversational Speech ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Sentence Recognition ◽  
Speech In Noise ◽  
Masking Condition ◽  
Speech Cues

Purpose The authors sought to investigate interactions among intelligibility-enhancing speech cues (i.e., semantic context, clearly produced speech, and visual information) across a range of masking conditions. Method Sentence recognition in noise was assessed for 29 normal-hearing listeners. Testing included semantically normal and anomalous sentences, conversational and clear speaking styles, auditory-only (AO) and audiovisual (AV) presentation modalities, and 4 different maskers (2-talker babble, 4-talker babble, 8-talker babble, and speech-shaped noise). Results Semantic context, clear speech, and visual input all improved intelligibility but also interacted with one another and with masking condition. Semantic context was beneficial across all maskers in AV conditions but only in speech-shaped noise in AO conditions. Clear speech provided the most benefit for AV speech with semantically anomalous targets. Finally, listeners were better able to take advantage of visual information for meaningful versus anomalous sentences and for clear versus conversational speech. Conclusion Because intelligibility-enhancing cues influence each other and depend on masking condition, multiple maskers and enhancement cues should be used to accurately assess individuals' speech-in-noise perception.

Korean Clear Speech Improves Speech Intelligibility for Individuals with Normal Hearing and Individuals with Hearing Loss

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Su Yeon Shin ◽  
Hongyeop Oh ◽  
In-Ki Jin
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Mixed Model ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Conversational Speech ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Mixed Model Analysis ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis

Abstract Background Clear speech is an effective communication strategy to improve speech intelligibility. While clear speech in several languages has been shown to significantly benefit intelligibility among listeners with differential hearing sensitivities and across environments of different noise levels, whether these results apply to Korean clear speech is unclear on account of the language's unique acoustic and linguistic characteristics. Purpose This study aimed to measure the intelligibility benefits of Korean clear speech relative to those of conversational speech among listeners with normal hearing and hearing loss. Research Design We used a mixed-model design that included both within-subject (effects of speaking style and listening condition) and between-subject (hearing status) elements. Data Collection and Analysis We compared the rationalized arcsine unit scores, which were transformed from the number of keywords recognized and repeated, between clear and conversational speech in groups with different hearing sensitivities across five listening conditions (quiet and 10, 5, 0, and –5 dB signal-to-noise ratio) using a mixed model analysis. Results The intelligibility scores of Korean clear speech were significantly higher than those of conversational speech under most listening conditions in all groups; the former yielded increases of 6 to 32 rationalized arcsine units in intelligibility. Conclusion The present study provides information on the actual benefits of Korean clear speech for listeners with varying hearing sensitivities. Audiologists or hearing professionals may use this information to establish communication strategies for Korean patients with hearing loss.

scholarly journals Intelligibility of Clear Speech: Effect of Instruction

2013 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1429-1440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Lam ◽  
Kris Tjaden
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Training Programs ◽  
Response Variability ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Speech Training ◽  
Sentence Intelligibility ◽  
Individual Speaker ◽  
Percentage Correct

Purpose The authors investigated how clear speech instructions influence sentence intelligibility. Method Twelve speakers produced sentences in habitual, clear, hearing impaired, and overenunciate conditions. Stimuli were amplitude normalized and mixed with multitalker babble for orthographic transcription by 40 listeners. The main analysis investigated percentage-correct intelligibility scores as a function of the 4 conditions and speaker sex. Additional analyses included listener response variability, individual speaker trends, and an alternate intelligibility measure: proportion of content words correct. Results Relative to the habitual condition, the overenunciate condition was associated with the greatest intelligibility benefit, followed by the hearing impaired and clear conditions. Ten speakers followed this trend. The results indicated different patterns of clear speech benefit for male and female speakers. Greater listener variability was observed for speakers with inherently low habitual intelligibility compared to speakers with inherently high habitual intelligibility. Stable proportions of content words were observed across conditions. Conclusions Clear speech instructions affected the magnitude of the intelligibility benefit. The instruction to overenunciate may be most effective in clear speech training programs. The findings may help explain the range of clear speech intelligibility benefit previously reported. Listener variability analyses suggested the importance of obtaining multiple listener judgments of intelligibility, especially for speakers with inherently low habitual intelligibility.

scholarly journals Visual Speech Benefit in Clear and Degraded Speech Depends on the Auditory Intelligibility of the Talker and the Number of Background Talkers

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 233121651983786 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine L. Blackburn ◽  
Pádraig T. Kitterick ◽  
Gary Jones ◽  
Christian J. Sumner ◽  
Paula C. Stacey
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Noise Signal ◽  
Sine Wave ◽  
Theory Model ◽  
Visual Speech ◽  
Clear Speech ◽  
Visual Integration ◽  
Degraded Speech ◽  
The Face ◽  
Vocoded Speech

Perceiving speech in background noise presents a significant challenge to listeners. Intelligibility can be improved by seeing the face of a talker. This is of particular value to hearing impaired people and users of cochlear implants. It is well known that auditory-only speech understanding depends on factors beyond audibility. How these factors impact on the audio-visual integration of speech is poorly understood. We investigated audio-visual integration when either the interfering background speech (Experiment 1) or intelligibility of the target talkers (Experiment 2) was manipulated. Clear speech was also contrasted with sine-wave vocoded speech to mimic the loss of temporal fine structure with a cochlear implant. Experiment 1 showed that for clear speech, the visual speech benefit was unaffected by the number of background talkers. For vocoded speech, a larger benefit was found when there was only one background talker. Experiment 2 showed that visual speech benefit depended upon the audio intelligibility of the talker and increased as intelligibility decreased. Degrading the speech by vocoding resulted in even greater benefit from visual speech information. A single “independent noise” signal detection theory model predicted the overall visual speech benefit in some conditions but could not predict the different levels of benefit across variations in the background or target talkers. This suggests that, similar to audio-only speech intelligibility, the integration of audio-visual speech cues may be functionally dependent on factors other than audibility and task difficulty, and that clinicians and researchers should carefully consider the characteristics of their stimuli when assessing audio-visual integration.

scholarly journals Effects of Wearing Face Masks While Using Different Speaking Styles in Noise on Speech Intelligibility During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hoyoung Yi ◽  
Ashly Pingsterhaus ◽  
Woonyoung Song
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Word Identification ◽  
Signal To Noise Ratio ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Presentation Mode ◽  
Mask Condition ◽  
Clear Speech

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the recommended/required use of face masks in public. The use of a face mask compromises communication, especially in the presence of competing noise. It is crucial to measure the potential effects of wearing face masks on speech intelligibility in noisy environments where excessive background noise can create communication challenges. The effects of wearing transparent face masks and using clear speech to facilitate better verbal communication were evaluated in this study. We evaluated listener word identification scores in the following four conditions: (1) type of mask condition (i.e., no mask, transparent mask, and disposable face mask), (2) presentation mode (i.e., auditory only and audiovisual), (3) speaking style (i.e., conversational speech and clear speech), and (4) with two types of background noise (i.e., speech shaped noise and four-talker babble at −5 signal-to-noise ratio). Results indicate that in the presence of noise, listeners performed less well when the speaker wore a disposable face mask or a transparent mask compared to wearing no mask. Listeners correctly identified more words in the audiovisual presentation when listening to clear speech. Results indicate the combination of face masks and the presence of background noise negatively impact speech intelligibility for listeners. Transparent masks facilitate the ability to understand target sentences by providing visual information. Use of clear speech was shown to alleviate challenging communication situations including compensating for a lack of visual cues and reduced acoustic signals.

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