Evaluation of speech perception in noise in Kurd-Persian bilinguals

Abstract

Background and Aim: In most everyday sett­ings, speech is heard in the presence of com­peting sounds and speech perception in noise is affected by various factors, including cognitive factors. In this regard, bilingualism is a pheno­menon that changes cognitive and behavioral processes as well as the nervous system. This study aimed to evaluate speech perception in noise and compare differences in Kurd-Persian bilinguals versus Persian monolinguals. Methods: This descriptive-analytic study was performed on 92 students with normal hearing, 46 of whom were bilingual Kurd-Persian with a mean (SD) age of 22.73 (1.92) years, and 46 other Persian monolinguals with a mean (SD) age of 22.71 (2.28) years. They were examined by consonant-vowel in noise (CV in noise) test and quick speech in noise (Q-SIN) test. The obtained data were analyzed by SPSS 21. Results: The comparison of the results showed differences in both tests between bilingual and monolingual subjects. In both groups, the reduc­tion of signal-to-noise ratio led to lower scores, but decrease in CV in noise test in bilinguals was less than monolinguals (p < 0.001) and in the Q-SIN test, the drop in bilinguals’ score was more than monolinguals (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Kurd-Persian bilinguals had a bet­ter performance in CV in noise test but had a worse performance in Q-SIN test than Persian monolinguals.