Effects of hospital noise on speech intelligibility

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (4) ◽  
pp. 2246-2246
Author(s):  
Frederick J. Gallun
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Hospital Noise

A novel corpus developed to evaluate the impact of hospital noise on speech intelligibility

2021 ◽  
Vol 263 (4) ◽  
pp. 2157-2163
Author(s):  
Sydney Perry ◽  
Tessa Bent ◽  
Erica Ryherd ◽  
Melissa Baese-Berk
Keyword(s):  
Word Frequency ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
American English ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Sound Levels ◽  
Word Familiarity ◽  
Medical Dictionary ◽  
Communication Breakdowns ◽  
Hospital Noise ◽  
The Impact

Hospital noise often exceeds recommended sound levels set by health organizations leading to reductions in speech intelligibility and communication breakdowns between doctors and patients. However, quantifying the impact of hospital noise on intelligibility has been limited by stimuli employed in prior studies, which did not include medically related terminology. To address this gap, a corpus of medically related sentences was developed. Word frequency, word familiarity, and sentence predictability, factors known to impact intelligibility of speech, were quantified. Nearly 700 words were selected from the Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary. Word frequency was taken from Lexique, a 51-million-word corpus of American subtitles (Brysbaert & New, 2009). Word familiarity was rated by 41 monolingual listeners. The words were then used to construct 200 sentences. To determine sentence predictability, the sentences were presented to 48 participants with one word missing; their task was to fill in the missing word. Three 40 item sentence sets with different familiarity / frequency types (low/low, high/low, high/high) were selected, all with low predictability levels. These sentences and 40 standard speech perception sentences were recorded by two male and two female talkers. This corpus can be used to assess how hospital noise impacts intelligibility across listener populations. Brysbaert, M., & New, B. (2009). Moving beyond Kučera and Francis: A critical evaluation of current word frequency norms and the introduction of a new and improved word frequency measure for American English. Behavior Research Methods, 41, 977-990. doi:10.3758/BRM.41.4.977.

A Family With Autosomal-Dominant Progressive Sensorineural Hearing Loss

1996 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Halpin ◽  
Barbara Herrmann ◽  
Margaret Whearty
Keyword(s):  
Speech Production ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
Role Models ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Speech Language Pathology ◽  
The Family ◽  
Patient Will ◽  
Language Pathology

The family described in this article provides an unusual opportunity to relate findings from genetic, histological, electrophysiological, psychophysical, and rehabilitative investigation. Although the total number evaluated is large (49), the known, living affected population is smaller (14), and these are spread from age 20 to age 59. As a result, the findings described above are those of a large-scale case study. Clearly, more data will be available through longitudinal study of the individuals documented in the course of this investigation but, given the slow nature of the progression in this disease, such studies will be undertaken after an interval of several years. The general picture presented to the audiologist who must rehabilitate these cases is that of a progressive cochlear degeneration that affects only thresholds at first, and then rapidly diminishes speech intelligibility. The expected result is that, after normal language development, the patient may accept hearing aids well, encouraged by the support of the family. Performance and satisfaction with the hearing aids is good, until the onset of the speech intelligibility loss, at which time the patient will encounter serious difficulties and may reject hearing aids as unhelpful. As the histological and electrophysiological results indicate, however, the eighth nerve remains viable, especially in the younger affected members, and success with cochlear implantation may be expected. Audiologic counseling efforts are aided by the presence of role models and support from the other affected members of the family. Speech-language pathology services were not considered important by the members of this family since their speech production developed normally and has remained very good. Self-correction of speech was supported by hearing aids and cochlear implants (Case 5’s speech production was documented in Perkell, Lane, Svirsky, & Webster, 1992). These patients received genetic counseling and, due to the high penetrance of the disease, exhibited serious concerns regarding future generations and the hope of a cure.

Comparison of In-the-Ear and Over-the-Ear Hearing Aid Fittings

1986 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna M. Risberg ◽  
Robyn M. Cox
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Aids ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Comparative Evaluation ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Hearing Aid ◽  
Hearing Aid Fitting ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Functional Gain ◽  
The Relationship

A custom in-the-ear (ITE) hearing aid fitting was compared to two over-the-ear (OTE) hearing aid fittings for each of 9 subjects with mild to moderately severe hearing losses. Speech intelligibility via the three instruments was compared using the Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR) test. The relationship between functional gain and coupler gain was compared for the ITE and the higher rated OTE instruments. The difference in input received at the microphone locations of the two types of hearing aids was measured for 10 different subjects and compared to the functional gain data. It was concluded that (a) for persons with mild to moderately severe hearing losses, appropriately adjusted custom ITE fittings typically yield speech intelligibility that is equal to the better OTE fitting identified in a comparative evaluation; and (b) gain prescriptions for ITE hearing aids should be adjusted to account for the high-frequency emphasis associated with in-the-concha microphone placement.

Dysarthric Sentence Intelligibility

1998 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1282-1293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Mertz Garcia ◽  
Paul A. Dagenais
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Presentation Mode ◽  
Contextual Influences ◽  
Motor Functioning ◽  
Video Presentation ◽  
Independent Information ◽  
Communicative Process ◽  
Presentation Formats ◽  
Sentence Intelligibility ◽  
Audio Video

This study examined changes in the sentence intelligibility scores of speakers with dysarthria in association with different signal-independent factors (contextual influences). This investigation focused on the presence or absence of iconic gestures while speaking sentences with low or high semantic predictiveness. The speakers were 4 individuals with dysarthria, who varied from one another in terms of their level of speech intelligibility impairment, gestural abilities, and overall level of motor functioning. Ninety-six inexperienced listeners (24 assigned to each speaker) orthographically transcribed 16 test sentences presented in an audio + video or audio-only format. The sentences had either low or high semantic predictiveness and were spoken by each speaker with and without the corresponding gestures. The effects of signal-independent factors (presence or absence of iconic gestures, low or high semantic predictiveness, and audio + video or audio-only presentation formats) were analyzed for individual speakers. Not all signal-independent information benefited speakers similarly. Results indicated that use of gestures and high semantic predictiveness improved sentence intelligibility for 2 speakers. The other 2 speakers benefited from high predictive messages. The audio + video presentation mode enhanced listener understanding for all speakers, although there were interactions related to specific speaking situations. Overall, the contributions of relevant signal-independent information were greater for the speakers with more severely impaired intelligibility. The results are discussed in terms of understanding the contribution of signal-independent factors to the communicative process.

Translating Principles of Speech Science to Clinical Practice: Current and Future Trends in Craniofacial Disorders

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Zajac
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Practice ◽  
Speech Intelligibility ◽  
Current Practice ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Behavioral Management ◽  
Single Word ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Speech Science ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Opinion Article

Abstract The purpose of this opinion article is to review the impact of the principles and technology of speech science on clinical practice in the area of craniofacial disorders. Current practice relative to (a) speech aerodynamic assessment, (b) computer-assisted single-word speech intelligibility testing, and (c) behavioral management of hypernasal resonance are reviewed. Future directions and/or refinement of each area are also identified. It is suggested that both challenging and rewarding times are in store for clinical researchers in craniofacial disorders.

Using spatial intercoms to improve speech intelligibility for international teams

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Terenzi ◽  
Nandini Iyer ◽  
Brian D. Simpson ◽  
Robert S. Bolia ◽  
Francesco Di Nocera
Keyword(s):  
Speech Intelligibility
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