Speech-in-noise research: From classrooms to Canadian Armed Forces operational environments

Abstract

The importance of speech intelligibility in learning and occupational environments is evidenced by the abundance of research in room acoustics and auditory communication. In addition to environmental factors such as background noise and reverberation, individual factors including the presence of hearing loss, wearing of hearing aids and hearing protection devices (HPDs), and language proficiency must be considered. Previous work in these areas has provided a benchmark for the study of communication in complex, high noise environments. For Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, the high noise levels inside aircraft, armoured vehicles and sea vessels demand the use of HPDs and integrated radio communication systems. This presentation will summarize our research on speech understanding in noise and multi-talker environments using different communication headsets, simulated hearing loss and language proficiency. We will focus on our recent studies of communication between native (L1) and non-native (L2) English speakers, which is applicable to the CAF due to the relatively high percentage of L2 membership. L2 speakers obtained lower scores on speech-in-noise tests than L1 speakers for both radioed and face-to-face speech, despite having a high level of language proficiency. Preliminary results of an investigation of cognitive load for L2 listeners will also be presented.