Acoustic features and gender differences in clear and conversational speech produced in simulated environments

Abstract

In adverse listening environments or when barriers to communication are present (such as hearing loss), talkers often modify their speech to facilitate communication. Such environments and demands for effective communication are often present in professions that require extensive use of the voice (e.g., teachers, call center workers, etc.). Women are known to suffer a higher incidence of voice disorders among those in these professions, possibly due to their accommodation strategies they employ when in adverse environments. The present study assessed gender differences in speech acoustic changes made in simulated environments (quiet, low-level noise, high-level noise, and reverberation) for two different speaking style instructions (clear and conversational). Ten talkers (five male, five female) performed three speech production tasks (a passage, a list of sentences, and a picture description) in each simulated environment. The two speaking styles were recorded in separate test sessions. Several acoustic ...