Factors underlying errors in the recognition of stop consonants by listeners with cochlear hearing impairment

Abstract

In a series of experiments we have assessed the contribution of selected stimulus factors to the recognition of stop consonants by listeners with mild to severe hearing impairments. Errors in recognition do not appear to be conditioned in a significant manner by a high amplitude first formant or by brief duration formant transitions. Errors are conditioned by the spectral tilt at signal onset and by the duration of the steady‐state spectrum at signal onset. In severely hearing‐impaired listeners, discrimination among the stops appears dependent on the presence of distinctive temporal properties among the signals. In general, our results point to the critical role played by accurate temporal resolution in maintaining accurate speech intelligibility.