Reduced Speech Intelligibility Research Articles

Effects of Speech Cues on Acoustics and Intelligibility of Korean-Speaking Children With Cerebral Palsy.

Reduced speech intelligibility is often a hallmark of children with dysarthria secondary to cerebral palsy (CP), but effects of speech strategies for increasing intelligibility are understudied, especially in children who speak languages other than English. This study examined the effects of (the Korean translation of) two cues, "speak with your big mouth" and "speak with your strong voice," on speech acoustics and intelligibility of Korean-speaking children with CP. Fifteen Korean-speaking children with CP repeated words and sentences in habitual, big mouth, and strong voice conditions. Acoustic analyses were performed and intelligibility was assessed by means of 90 blinded listeners' ease-of-understanding (EoU) ratings and percentage of words correctly transcribed (PWC). In response to both cues, children's vocal intensity and utterance duration increased significantly and differentially, whereas their vowel space area gains did not reach statistical significance. EoU increased significantly in the big mouth condition at word, but not sentence, level, whereas in the strong voice condition, EoU increased significantly at both levels. PWC increases were not statistically significant. Considerable variability in children's responses to cues was noted overall. Korean-speaking children with CP modify their speech styles differentially when provided with cues aimed to increase their articulatory working space and vocal intensity. The results provide preliminary support for the use of the strong voice cue, in particular, to increase EoU. While the findings do not offer conclusive evidence of the intelligibility benefits of these cues, investigation with a larger sample size should provide further insight into optimal cueing strategies for increasing intelligibility in this population. Implications for language-specific versus language-independent treatment approaches are discussed. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.25521052.

Impact of perceptual-learning strategies and background noise on disordered speech intelligibility

Objective: There is a plethora of research showing reduced speech intelligibility for a variety of voice disorders (i.e., dysphonia, alaryngeal). Therapeutic approaches to improve intelligibility typically involve targeting the speaker (e.g., clear speech, reduced rate) with minimal attention to the listener. Therefore, there were three purposes of this study: 1) to determine the impact of background noise on the speech intelligibility of disordered speakers; 2) to determine the impact of providing listeners with perceptual-learning strategies on the speech intelligibility of speakers with a voice disorder; and 3) to determine if subjective ratings of voice quality can predict speech intelligibility. Methods: Sentences were recorded from 12 speakers (2 typical, 3 alaryngeal, 7 dysphonic). Sentences were divided into one of three groups of signal-to-noise ratios (SNR: quiet, +5 dB SNR, and 0 dB SNR) and individually presented to 129 healthy listeners divided into one of three groups (i.e., control, acknowledgment of disorder, cognitive-perceptual strategies). Orthographic transcription was used to assess speech intelligibility. In addition, three expert listeners provided subjective voice quality ratings of all speakers. Results: Listeners had significantly more intelligibility errors with increased background noise (p <.001) and providing strategies to listeners did not result in a statistical improvement level F(6, 486) = 1.53, p = .17, η2p = 0.02. Regression analysis showed that the subjective voice quality overall severity was able to predict speech intelligibility in the noisy condition (0 dB SNR), accounting for 37% of the variance, R2 = .365, F(1,10) = 5.759, p = .037. Conclusion: Results suggest that increased background noise has a deleterious effect on the speech intelligibility of those with a voice disorder but that providing listeners with strategies in hopes of improving speaker intelligibility was not successful. Results did provide support, however, for the use of subjective voice quality ratings as a potential index of speech intelligibility.

Multisensory effects of mask wearing on speech intelligibility and the benefit of multilingualism.

Due to the pandemic of the Covid-19 disease, it became common to wear masks on some public spaces. By covering mouth and nose, visual-related speech cues are greatly reduced, while the auditory signal is both distorted and attenuated. The present study aimed to analyze the multisensory effects of mask wearing on speech intelligibility and the differences in these effects between participants who spoke 1, 2 and 3 languages. The study consisted of the presentation of sentences from the SPIN test to 40 participants. Participants were asked to report the perceived sentences. There were four conditions: auditory with mask; audiovisual with mask; auditory without mask; audiovisual without mask. Two sessions were conducted, one week apart, each with the same stimuli but with a different signal-to-noise ratio. Results demonstrated that the use of the mask decreased speech intelligibility, both due to a decrease in the quality of auditory stimuli and due to the loss of visual information. Signal-to-noise ratio largely affects speech intelligibility and higher ratios are needed in mask-wearing conditions to obtain any degree of intelligibility. Those who speak more than one language are less affected by mask wearing, as are younger listeners. Wearing a facial mask reduces speech intelligibility, both due to visual and auditory factors. Older people and people who only speak one language are affected the most.

A Transparent Mask and Clear Speech Benefit Speech Intelligibility in Individuals With Hearing Loss.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the impacts of a surgical mask and a transparent mask on audio-only and audiovisual speech intelligibility in noise (i.e., 0 dB signal-to-noise ratio) in individuals with mild-to-profound hearing loss. The study also examined if individuals with hearing loss can benefit from using a transparent mask and clear speech for speech understanding in noise. Thirty-one individuals with hearing loss (from 22 to 74 years old) completed keyword identification tasks to measure face-masked speech intelligibility in noise. A mixed-effects logistic regression model was used to examine the effects of face masks (no mask, transparent mask, surgical mask), presentation modes (audio only, audiovisual), speaking styles (conversational, clear), noise type (speech-shaped noise [SSN], four-talker babble [4-T babble]), hearing groups (mild hearing loss [MHL], greater than MHL: GHL), and their interactions on binary accuracy of keyword identification. In the audio-only mode, the GHL group showed reduced speech intelligibility regardless of other factors, whereas the MHL group showed decreased speech intelligibility for the transparent mask more than for the surgical mask. The use of a transparent mask was advantageous for both hearing loss groups. Clear speech remediated the detrimental effects of face masks on speech intelligibility in noise. Both groups tended to perform better in SSN versus 4-T babble. The findings indicate that, when using face masks, either a transparent mask or a surgical mask negatively affects speech understanding in noise for individuals with hearing loss. Using a transparent mask and clear speech could be a potential solution to improve speech intelligibility in communication with face masks in noise.

APPLICATION OF THE PHONETIC PLACEMENT METHOD FOR ARTICULATION DISORDERS IN CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Speech intelligibility is an important factor in verbal communication. Children with intellectual disabilities with intellectual disabilities will face difficulties in communicating due to reduced speech intelligibility. This condition will affect social skills, mental mental state, and academics. Articulatory misplacement is one of the factor that makes difficulties in articulation accuracy. Method: Using a single subject experiment, with a one group pretest-posttest design. The participant was a 7-year-old girl with articulation disorder /m/ in the initial position of the word and had never received speech therapy. Data collection was conducted through interviews with the client's parents, direct observation of the client, tests, and document studies. Speech therapy was conducted for 10 sessions with an emphasis on bilabial phonetic placement exercises. Perceptual assessment by comparing the ability to produce /m/ in the initial position of the word before and after therapy. Results: In the evaluation assessment, there has been no improvement in the client's ability to produce /m/ in the initial position of the word. Conclusion: The use of the phonetic placement method to improve the ability to produce /m/ in the initial position of words has not been effective for children with intellectual disabilities in this case. Suggestion: It may be possible to increase the frequency of therapy to see more significant improvement, and adjust the therapy materials.

Listening efficiency in adult cochlear-implant users compared with normally-hearing controls at ecologically relevant signal-to-noise ratios.

Due to having to work with an impoverished auditory signal, cochlear-implant (CI) users may experience reduced speech intelligibility and/or increased listening effort in real-world listening situations, compared to their normally-hearing (NH) peers. These two challenges to perception may be usefully integrated in a measure of listening efficiency: conceptually, the amount of accuracy achieved for a certain amount of effort expended. We describe a novel approach to quantifying listening efficiency based on the rate of evidence accumulation toward a correct response in a linear ballistic accumulator (LBA) model of choice decision-making. Estimation of this objective measure within a hierarchical Bayesian framework confers further benefits, including full quantification of uncertainty in parameter estimates. We applied this approach to examine the speech-in-noise performance of a group of 24 CI users (M age: 60.3, range: 20-84 years) and a group of 25 approximately age-matched NH controls (M age: 55.8, range: 20-79 years). In a laboratory experiment, participants listened to reverberant target sentences in cafeteria noise at ecologically relevant signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of +20, +10, and +4 dB SNR. Individual differences in cognition and self-reported listening experiences were also characterised by means of cognitive tests and hearing questionnaires. At the group level, the CI group showed much lower listening efficiency than the NH group, even in favourable acoustic conditions. At the individual level, within the CI group (but not the NH group), higher listening efficiency was associated with better cognition (i.e., working-memory and linguistic-closure) and with more positive self-reported listening experiences, both in the laboratory and in daily life. We argue that listening efficiency, measured using the approach described here, is: (i) conceptually well-motivated, in that it is theoretically impervious to differences in how individuals approach the speed-accuracy trade-off that is inherent to all perceptual decision making; and (ii) of practical utility, in that it is sensitive to differences in task demand, and to differences between groups, even when speech intelligibility remains at or near ceiling level. Further research is needed to explore the sensitivity and practical utility of this metric across diverse listening situations.

Vowel Production in Children and Adults With Down Syndrome: Fundamental and Formant Frequencies of the Corner Vowels.

Atypical vowel production contributes to reduced speech intelligibility in children and adults with Down syndrome (DS). This study compares the acoustic data of the corner vowels /i/, /u/, /æ/, and /ɑ/ from speakers with DS against typically developing/developed (TD) speakers. Measurements of the fundamental frequency (f o) and first four formant frequencies (F1-F4) were obtained from single word recordings containing the target vowels from 81 participants with DS (ages 3-54 years) and 293 TD speakers (ages 4-92 years), all native speakers of English. The data were used to construct developmental trajectories and to determine interspeaker and intraspeaker variability. Trajectories for DS differed from TD based on age and sex, but the groups were similar with the striking change in f o and F1-F4 frequencies around age 10 years. Findings confirm higher f o in DS, and vowel-specific differences between DS and TD in F1 and F2 frequencies, but not F3 and F4. The measure of F2 differences of front-versus-back vowels was more sensitive of compression than reduced vowel space area/centralization across age and sex. Low vowels had more pronounced F2 compression as related to reduced speech intelligibility. Intraspeaker variability was significantly greater for DS than TD for nearly all frequency values across age. Vowel production differences between DS and TD are age- and sex-specific, which helps explain contradictory results in previous studies. Increased intraspeaker variability across age in DS confirms the presence of a persisting motor speech disorder. Atypical vowel production in DS is common and related to dysmorphology, delayed development, and disordered motor control.

The Application of Time-Frequency Masking To Improve Intelligibility of Dysarthric Speech in Background Noise.

Background noise reduces speech intelligibility. Time-frequency (T-F) masking is an established signal processing technique that improves intelligibility of neurotypical speech in background noise. Here, we investigated a novel application of T-F masking, assessing its potential to improve intelligibility of neurologically degraded speech in background noise. Listener participants (N = 422) completed an intelligibility task either in the laboratory or online, listening to and transcribing audio recordings of neurotypical (control) and neurologically degraded (dysarthria) speech under three different processing types: speech in quiet (quiet), speech mixed with cafeteria noise (noise), and speech mixed with cafeteria noise and then subsequently processed by an ideal quantized mask (IQM) to remove the noise. We observed significant reductions in intelligibility of dysarthric speech, even at highly favorable signal-to-noise ratios (+11 to +23 dB) that did not impact neurotypical speech. We also observed significant intelligibility improvements from speech in noise to IQM-processed speech for both control and dysarthric speech across a wide range of noise levels. Furthermore, the overall benefit of IQM processing for dysarthric speech was comparable with that of the control speech in background noise, as was the intelligibility data collected in the laboratory versus online. This study demonstrates proof of concept, validating the application of T-F masks to a neurologically degraded speech signal. Given that intelligibility challenges greatly impact communication, and thus the lives of people with dysarthria and their communication partners, the development of clinical tools to enhance intelligibility in this clinical population is critical.

Speech intelligibility and listening effort: A dual-task paradigm for accented speech perception

Unfamiliar accents can make speech communication difficult, both by reducing speech intelligibility and by increasing the effort listeners must put forth to understand speech. In general, intelligibility refers to the proportion of words that a listener can correctly identify (100%, 50%, etc.), while listening effort refers to the cognitive resources that must be devoted to a difficult listening task. Generally, lower intelligibility is related to higher effort. However, it is now apparent that these two constructs, while related, are independent: for example, two 100% intelligible speakers may elicit different amounts of effort. To better characterize the relationship between intelligibility and effort, this study presents speakers of four intelligibility levels (one L1 English speaker, and three Mandarin-accented English speakers) within a dual-task paradigm (featuring a vibrotactile secondary task) to measure listening effort. We hypothesize an inverse relationship between intelligibility and effort, but the shape and slope of this relationship are of primary interest. These results will begin to illuminate the relationship between intelligibility and effort across a more continuous range of accent intelligibility. Data collection is ongoing. Results for the Mandarin Chinese accent will be presented. Preliminary results for the study’s second iteration (using a Korean accent) will also be presented.

A sound environment for schools: 60 years of research into the impact

Problems caused by noise and poor acoustics in schools and other educational establishments have been recognised for over 100 years. Many countries now have guidelines or regulations governing the acoustic design of school buildings, reflecting the need for acoustic environments which are suitable for teaching and learning. The development of such guidelines follows many years of research into the detrimental impact of excessive noise and reverberation on pupils and teachers. Since the 1960s research around the world has shown that noise in schools affects children's academic performance and achievements, causes annoyance and disturbance to pupils and teachers and, together with reverberation, reduces speech intelligibility in the classroom. This paper reviews much of this research, focusing on the acoustic design of enclosed classrooms and its impact on pupils of all ages.

Speech Intelligibility and Speech Naturalness while Speaking with and without Medical Mask

Introduction: The COVID-19 situation has led to an increase use of medical mask for protection. Facial and respiratory PPE covering the mouth and nose have been reported to diminish Speech Intelligibility. Altering the volume, rate and volume and rate together may contribute to influencing the speech intelligibility and speech naturalness rating. Therefore, identifying the appropriate method to speak with medical mask can help train people to communicate with mask. This study aimed to (1) analyse effects of wearing masks on speech intelligibility, naturalness and comprehensibility, and (2) document an altered style of speaking to improve speech intelligibility, naturalness and comprehensibility while wearing masks. Method: Cross-over study design was used. Spoken utterances from 14 naïve speakers were recorded with and without medical mask, and speech in typical style, increased volume (loudness), reduced rate, and mixed method (combination of increased loudness and reduced rate) with medical mask was recorded from 12 professional speakers. Two expert listeners rated the naïve speakers, and two naïve listeners rated professional speakers using standard rating scales of speech intelligibility and naturalness. Percentage of correct identification of utterance was calculated as a measure of comprehensibility. Wilcoxon signed rank test and Friedman test were used to report significant differences among conditions and parameters analysed. Results: Speech intelligibility, naturalness and comprehensibility was poorer while speaking with medical mask than without them. Speaking in mixed method (combination of increased loudness and reduced rate), while using medical masks was the most appropriate style of speech in order to be intelligible, natural and comprehensible, followed by increased loudness style, typical style and reduced rate style. Conclusion: People should be alerted that wearing mask leads to reduction in speech intelligibility, comprehensibility and naturalness. These can be improved by modifying the style of speaking.

Speech handicap and vocal tract discomfort with different types of face masks in the COVID-19 era

Purpose: Compulsory use of masks is recommended to prevent droplet infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. This can alter optimal communication in daily life. This study compared the self-perceived speech handicap and vocal tract discomfort when wearing and not wearing a face mask and different types of face masks in a healthy population.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted via an online questionnaire. Speech Handicap Index (SHI) and Vocal Tract Discomfort Scale (VTDS) scores were collected via Google forms (Google, Mountain View, California) from 128 healthy Korean populations with and without face masks and different types of face masks.Results: While speaking with a face mask, subjects were identified with a significant lack of air, unclear articulation, and reduced speech intelligibility in a noisy situation. Although total SHI and VTDS scores exhibited slightly higher with a face mask, no significant differences were found between with and without mask conditions. For mask type, individuals who frequently wore KF94 masks subjectively perceived significantly higher speech handicap and vocal tract discomfort than surgical or fabric masks.Conclusions: In the current study, wearing a face mask did not have a significant impact on speech handicap and vocal tract discomfort in a healthy adult population during the COVID-19 pandemic period, implying people already adapted to wearing a face mask. In terms of speech problems and frequency, the severity of sensation or symptoms of vocal discomfort significantly differed depending on which face mask type they used. Future research should address self-evaluation of their feeling or experience due to face mask use, considering the elderly and patients with communication disorders who suffer more with communication in daily life.

Intelligibility and detectability of speech measured diotically and dichotically in groups of listeners with, at most, "slight" hearing loss.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if a group of listeners having thresholds at 4 kHz exceeding 7.5 dB HL, and no more than "slight" hearing loss, would exhibit degradations in performance when "target" stimuli were masked tokens of speech. Intelligibility thresholds and detection thresholds were measured separately for speech masked by flat-spectrum noise or speech-shaped noise. Both NoSo and NoSπ configurations were employed. Consistent with findings of earlier investigations, when maskers and speech tokens were broadband, NoSo and NoSπ detection thresholds were substantially lower than intelligibility thresholds. More importantly, for the small cohorts tested, mean thresholds obtained from the ≤7.5 dB and >7.5 dB groups were equivalent. When maskers and speech targets were high-pass filtered at 500 Hz and above, the mean intelligibility thresholds obtained from the >7.5 dB group were about 4 dB higher than those obtained from the ≤7.5 dB group, independent of masker type and interaural configuration of the stimuli. In real-world listening situations, such deficits may manifest themselves as substantially reduced speech intelligibility and, perhaps, increased "listening effort" for listeners whose thresholds at 4 kHz exceed 7.5 dB HL and who have no more than "slight" hearing loss.

Validation and cross-linguistic adaptation of the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment (FDA-2) speech intelligibility tests: Hebrew version.

'Dysarthria' is a group of motor speech disorders resulting from a disturbance in neuromuscular control. Most individuals with dysarthria cope with communicative restrictions due to speech impairments and reduced intelligibility. Thus, language-sensitive measurements of intelligibility are important in dysarthria neurological assessment. The Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, 2nd edition (FDA-2), is a validated tool for the identification of the nature and patterns of oro-motor movements associated with different types of dysarthria. The current study conducted a careful culture- and linguistic-sensitive adaption of the two intelligibility subtests of the FDA-2 to Hebrew (words and sentences) and performed a preliminary validation with relevant clinical populations. First, sets of Hebrew words and sentences were constructed, based on the criteria defined in FDA-2, as well as on several other factors that may affect performance: emotional valence, arousal and familiarity. Second, the new subtests were validated in healthy older adults (n = 20), and in two clinical groups (acquired dysarthria, n = 15; and developmental dysarthria, n = 19). Analysis indicated that the new subtests were found to be specific and sensitive, valid and reliable, as scores significantly differ between healthy older adults and adults with dysarthria, correlated with other subjective measures of intelligibility, and showed high test-retest reliability. The words and sentences intelligibility subtests can be used to evaluate speech disorders in various populations of Hebrew speakers, thus may be an important addition to the speech-language pathologist's toolbox, for clinical work as well as for research purposes. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on the subject 'Dysarthria' is a group of disorders reflecting impairments in the strength, speed and precision of movements required for adequate control of the various speech subsystems. Reduced speech intelligibility is one of the main consequences of all dysarthria subtypes, irrespective of their underlying cause. Indeed, most individuals with dysarthria cope with communicative restrictions due to speech impairments. Thus, language-sensitive measurements of intelligibility are important in dysarthria assessment. The FDA-2's words and sentences subtests present standardized and validated tools for the identification of the nature and patterns of oro-motor movements associated with different types of dysarthria. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The lack of assessment tools in Hebrew poses challenges to clinical evaluation as well as research purposes. The current study conducted a careful culture- and linguistic-sensitive adaption of the FDA-2 intelligibility subtests to Hebrew and performed a preliminary validation with relevant clinical populations. First, sets of Hebrew words and sentences were constructed, based on the criteria defined in FDA-2, as well as on several other factors that may affect performance: emotional valence, arousal and familiarity. Second, the new subtests were validated in healthy older adults (n = 20), and in two clinical groups (adults with acquired dysarthria, n = 15; and young adults with developmental dysarthria, n = 19). What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Analyses indicated that the new word and sentence subtests are specific, sensitive, valid and reliable. Namely, (1) they successfully differentiate between healthy individuals and individuals with dysarthria; (2) they correlate with other subjective measures of intelligibility; and (3) they show high test-retest reliability. The words and sentences intelligibility subtests can be used to evaluate speech disorders in various populations of Hebrew speakers. Thus, they may be an important addition to the speech-language pathologist's toolbox, for clinical and research purposes. The methods described here can be emulated for the adaptation of speech assessment tools to other languages.

Speech intelligibility assessment of dysarthria using Fisher vector encoding

Neuromuscular disorders can lead to dysarthria. Dysarthria is a speech disorder that mainly affects the human motor speech system. It often results in reduced speech intelligibility. Speech intelligibility is one of the parameters to assess the severity of dysarthria. The intelligibility of speech decreases as the severity increases. Automatic speech intelligibility assessment could be reliable and cost-effective compared to the conventional methods which need experienced speech pathologists. Automatic intelligibility assessment includes feature extraction and classification. Features extracted from spectral and cepstral domains are investigated for use in intelligibility assessment. Frame level features are extracted from different signal representations in spectral and cepstral domains. Fisher vector encoding and temporal encoding that uses descriptive statistics are applied to convert frame level features into utterance level. These features are fed to PLDA and ANN classifiers for intelligibility assessment. Overall, the performance of Fisher vector encoding is found to be superior compared to temporal encoding. In all features, the performance of ANN is better in assessing the intelligibility levels compared to PLDA as expected. The STFT, as well as harmonics in spectral domain and CQCC in the cepstral domain, performed well for intelligibility assessment of unseen data of TORGO database.

Neural Activity during Story Listening Is Synchronized across Individuals Despite Acoustic Masking

Older people with hearing problems often experience difficulties understanding speech in the presence of background sound. As a result, they may disengage in social situations, which has been associated with negative psychosocial health outcomes. Measuring listening (dis)engagement during challenging listening situations has received little attention thus far. We recruit young, normal-hearing human adults (both sexes) and investigate how speech intelligibility and engagement during naturalistic story listening is affected by the level of acoustic masking (12-talker babble) at different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). In , we observed that word-report scores were above 80% for all but the lowest SNR (-3 dB SNR) we tested, at which performance dropped to 54%. In , we calculated intersubject correlation (ISC) using EEG data to identify dynamic spatial patterns of shared neural activity evoked by the stories. ISC has been used as a neural measure of participants' engagement with naturalistic materials. Our results show that ISC was stable across all but the lowest SNRs, despite reduced speech intelligibility. Comparing ISC and intelligibility demonstrated that word-report performance declined more strongly with decreasing SNR compared to ISC. Our measure of neural engagement suggests that individuals remain engaged in story listening despite missing words because of background noise. Our work provides a potentially fruitful approach to investigate listener engagement with naturalistic, spoken stories that may be used to investigate (dis)engagement in older adults with hearing impairment.

Soft palate reconstruction with free jejunum flap: Impact on the velopharyngeal insufficiency

If inadequately reconstructed, large resections of the soft palate inevitably cause velopharyngeal insufficiency, nasal regurgitation and reduce speech intelligibility. A series of 12 free Jejunal flaps are presented, with 28.5 months median follow up (IQR 10.5), with evidence that the flaps provided appropriate secretions and good functionality for speech and resumption of oral intake. A retrospective case series was performed, from 2004 to 2020, including patients diagnosed with palate locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma and reconstructed with free jejunum flap. Twelve patients were included, with mean age of 66 years. No flap loss, thrombosis or infection were recorded. Oral feeding was achieved in all patients, on an average after 36 days from the operation. Speech intelligibility improved by 4 points in a scale 0-10. The thin, pliable, and elastic properties of the free jejunal flap are optimally suited for a functional reconstruction of the three-dimensional palatal defects. With its serous and mucous secretion, the free jejunal flap can lead to early return to solid diet and minimize functional impairment of phonation and speech.

No news is good news: Social priming and the intelligibility of American-accented English

Social information, such as a speaker’s race, can affect the perception of speech. In some cases, these social primes facilitate perception, while in others they can lead to reduced speech intelligibility. For example, a picture of an East Asian face may facilitate perception of Mandarin Chinese-accented English but interfere with perception of American-accented English. Using a large sample recruited online, we aimed to test whether there is a link between implicit racial associations and the effects of social primes on the perception of American-accented English. We examined priming for a White versus an East Asian prime and for a White versus a Latina prime. In both cases, the difference between priming conditions was non-significant. Subjects also completed two implicit association tests, examining associations of these races/ethnicities with the constructs American versus Foreign and Good versus Bad. Individual differences in implicit associations did not predict social priming for either cohort. However, in some cases they did predict overall performance on the speech perception task. We discuss how these findings diverge from prior work on multiple accounts, and how consideration of the racial and linguistic diversity of listeners’ interpersonal networks may improve our understanding of individual differences in social priming susceptibility.

The Effect of the Use of Hearing Aids in Elders: Perspectives.

Older adults with hearing loss have difficulties during conversation with others because an elevated auditory threshold reduces speech intelligibility, especially in noisy environments. Listening and comprehension often become exhausting tasks for hearing-impaired elders, resulting in social isolation and depression. The aim of the present study was to investigate the advantages of hearing aid use in relation to relief from listening-related fatigue, which is still controversial. Participants included a sample of 49 hearing-impaired elders affected by presbycusis for whom hearing aids were prescribed. The Modified Fatigue Impact Scale was used to assess cognitive, physical and psychosocial fatigue. The vitality subscale of the Short Form Health Survey 36 and a single item of the multi-dimensional Speech, Spatial and Quality Hearing Scale (“Do you have to put a lot of effort to hear what is being said in conversation with others?”) were also used. The Cognitive Failures Questionnaire was used to investigate daily errors related to lack of memory and reduced mindedness. Hearing aids rehabilitation resulted in improved speech intelligibility in competing noise, and a significant reduction in cognitive and psychosocial fatigue and listening effort in conversation. Vitality was also improved and a significant reduction in the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire scores was observed. Findings from the study indicate that the use of hearing aids in older impaired-listeners provide them not only with an increased auditory function but also with a reduction in listening-related fatigue and mindedness.

Perceived Listening Difficulties of Adult Cochlear-Implant Users Under Measures Introduced to Combat the Spread of COVID-19.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, public-health measures introduced to stem the spread of the disease caused profound changes to patterns of daily-life communication. This paper presents the results of an online survey conducted to document adult cochlear-implant (CI) users’ perceived listening difficulties under four communication scenarios commonly experienced during the pandemic, specifically when talking: with someone wearing a facemask, under social/physical distancing guidelines, via telephone, and via video call. Results from ninety-four respondents indicated that people considered their in-person listening experiences in some common everyday scenarios to have been significantly worsened by the introduction of mask-wearing and physical distancing. Participants reported experiencing an array of listening difficulties, including reduced speech intelligibility and increased listening effort, which resulted in many people actively avoiding certain communication scenarios at least some of the time. Participants also found listening effortful during remote communication, which became rapidly more prevalent following the outbreak of the pandemic. Potential solutions identified by participants to ease the burden of everyday listening with a CI may have applicability beyond the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the results emphasized the importance of visual cues, including lipreading and live speech-to-text transcriptions, to improve in-person and remote communication for people with a CI.