Application of articulation theory to the study of speech reception by the hearing impaired

Abstract

Roughly 40 years have elapsed since articulation theory was applied to the analysis of speech reception measurements on impaired listeners made in conjunction with the “Harvard” and MEDRESCO hearing aid studies. We review three recent applications of articulation theory for similar purposes. In one study, it was used to predict the effect of varying the frequency‐gain characteristic of amplification systems used by listeners with sharply sloping high‐frequency losses. In a second study, it was used to evaluate the results of high‐, low‐ and bandpass filtering applied to speech for five listeners with flat and sloping losses. In a third study, it was used to predict speech reception in noise for hearing‐impaired listeners with a variety of audiograms. The successes and limitations encountered in these applications, and possible modifications of the theory, will be discussed. [Work supported by NIH.]