Audiovisual benefit in the perception of foreign-accented speech by cochlear-implant users

Abstract

When visual and auditory speech cues are presented together, listeners typically obtain an audiovisual (AV) benefit, or a boost in speech perception accuracy compared to auditory-only (AO) or visual-only (VO) presentations. Visual cues are particularly important for the speech perception of cochlear-implant (CI) users, who show a greater AV benefit than normal-hearing (NH) listeners. However, whether CI users can utilize visual cues for an AV benefit when the speaker has a foreign accent is unknown. Accented speech can alter auditory (primarily temporal) and visual cues, and is significantly more difficult for CI users in AO listening conditions. We investigated the AV benefit in CI users for unaccented and accented speech, presenting IEEE sentences in VO, AO, and AV conditions. The sentences were spoken by one native English speaker and one non-native English speaker who is a native Spanish-speaker from Peru. Preliminary results reveal that CI users show AV benefits in both unaccented and accented conditions, with substantially larger AV benefits for accented speech. Although visual cues alone may be insufficient for speech perception, CI users may necessitate more reliance on visual cues when presented with auditory cues that have been altered in accented speech.