Classroom Acoustics for Children With Normal Hearing and With Hearing Impairment

2000 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl C. Crandell ◽  
Joseph J. Smaldino
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Educational Settings ◽  
Classroom Acoustics ◽  
Children With Hearing Loss

Past investigations demonstrate that the acoustical environment of a classroom is a critical factor in the academic, psychoeducational, and psychosocial achievement of children with normal hearing and with hearing impairment. This article examines several acoustical variables, such as noise, reverberation, and speaker-listener distance, which can deleteriously affect speech perception in classrooms. Moreover, the discussion examines the effects of these variables on the speech perception abilities of both children with normal hearing and children with hearing loss. Finally, appropriate acoustical criteria are suggested for children in educational settings.

Speech Understanding Using Surgical Masks: A Problem in Health Care?

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (09) ◽  
pp. 686-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Lucks Mendel ◽  
Julie A. Gardino ◽  
Samuel R. Atcherson
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Deleterious Effect ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Speech Stimuli ◽  
Dental Office ◽  
Significant Difference

Background: Successful communication is necessary in health-care environments. Yet the presence of noise in hospitals, operating rooms, and dental offices may have a deleterious effect on health-care personnel and patients understanding messages accurately. The presence of a surgical mask and hearing loss may further affect speech perception. Purpose: To evaluate whether a surgical mask had an effect on speech understanding for listeners with normal hearing and hearing impairment when speech stimuli were administered in the presence or absence of dental office noise. Research Design: Participants were assigned to one of two groups based on hearing sensitivity in this quasi-experimental, cross-sectional study. Study Sample: A total of 31 adults participated in this study (1 talker, 15 listeners with normal hearing, and 15 with hearing impairment). The normal hearing group had thresholds of 25 dB HL or better at the octave frequencies from 250 through 8000 Hz while the hearing loss group had varying degrees and configurations of hearing loss with thresholds equal to or poorer than 25 dB HL for the same octave frequencies. Data Collection And Analysis: Selected lists from the Connected Speech Test (CST) were digitally recorded with and without a surgical mask present and then presented to the listeners in four conditions: without a mask in quiet, without a mask in noise, with a mask in quiet, and with a mask in noise. Results: A significant difference was found in the spectral analyses of the speech stimuli with and without the mask. The presence of a surgical mask, however, did not have a detrimental effect on speech understanding in either the normal-hearing or hearing-impaired groups. The dental office noise did have a significant effect on speech understanding for both groups. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the presence of a surgical mask did not negatively affect speech understanding. However, the presence of noise did have a deleterious effect on speech perception and warrants further attention in health-care environments.

The Effect of Conventional and Transparent Surgical Masks on Speech Understanding in Individuals with and without Hearing Loss

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (01) ◽  
pp. 058-067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel R. Atcherson ◽  
Lisa Lucks Mendel ◽  
Wesley J. Baltimore ◽  
Chhayakanta Patro ◽  
Sungmin Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Speech Perception ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Visual Input ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Speech Understanding ◽  
Profound Hearing Loss ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Surgical Masks ◽  
Significant Difference

AbstractIt is generally well known that speech perception is often improved with integrated audiovisual input whether in quiet or in noise. In many health-care environments, however, conventional surgical masks block visual access to the mouth and obscure other potential facial cues. In addition, these environments can be noisy. Although these masks may not alter the acoustic properties, the presence of noise in addition to the lack of visual input can have a deleterious effect on speech understanding. A transparent (“see-through”) surgical mask may help to overcome this issue.To compare the effect of noise and various visual input conditions on speech understanding for listeners with normal hearing (NH) and hearing impairment using different surgical masks.Participants were assigned to one of three groups based on hearing sensitivity in this quasi-experimental, cross-sectional study.A total of 31 adults participated in this study: one talker, ten listeners with NH, ten listeners with moderate sensorineural hearing loss, and ten listeners with severe-to-profound hearing loss.Selected lists from the Connected Speech Test were digitally recorded with and without surgical masks and then presented to the listeners at 65 dB HL in five conditions against a background of four-talker babble (+10 dB SNR): without a mask (auditory only), without a mask (auditory and visual), with a transparent mask (auditory only), with a transparent mask (auditory and visual), and with a paper mask (auditory only).A significant difference was found in the spectral analyses of the speech stimuli with and without the masks; however, no more than ∼2 dB root mean square. Listeners with NH performed consistently well across all conditions. Both groups of listeners with hearing impairment benefitted from visual input from the transparent mask. The magnitude of improvement in speech perception in noise was greatest for the severe-to-profound group.Findings confirm improved speech perception performance in noise for listeners with hearing impairment when visual input is provided using a transparent surgical mask. Most importantly, the use of the transparent mask did not negatively affect speech perception performance in noise.

Impedance Audiometry Suggested

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-384
Author(s):  
John A. McCurdy
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Otitis Media ◽  
Middle Ear ◽  
Verbal Ability ◽  
Secretory Otitis Media ◽  
Suppurative Otitis Media ◽  
Significant Percentage ◽  
Children With Hearing Loss ◽  
Verbal Development

The findings of Kaplan et al.1 with respect to impairment of verbal ability in Alaskan children with hearing loss greater than 25 dB ISO secondary to chronic suppurative otitis media warrant renewed attention to a similar otologic problem which constitutes a threat to the verbal development of a significant percentage of all children—hearing impairment secondary to chronic secretory otitis media. Although the hearing loss in chronic secretory otitis media may fluctuate, a significant conductive impairment will persist as long as fluid remains in the middle ear.

Effect of Age on Prediction of Hearing Loss with the Bivariate-Plotting Procedure

1984 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shlomo Silman ◽  
Carol Ann Silverman ◽  
Theresa Showers ◽  
Stanley A. Gelfand
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Impairment ◽  
Predictive Accuracy ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Sensorineural Hearing ◽  
Line Segments ◽  
Bivariate Plot ◽  
Accuracy Of Prediction ◽  
Effect Of Age

The effect of age on accuracy of prediction of hearing impairment with the bivariate-plotting procedure was investigated in 72 normal-hearing subjects aged 20–69 years and in 86 sensorineural hearing-impaired subjects aged 20–83 years. The predictive accuracy with the bivariate-plotting procedure improved markedly when the data from subjects over 44 years of age were excluded from the bivariate plot. The predictive accuracy improved further when the construction of the line segments in the traditional bivariate plot was modified.

Classroom acoustics IV: Speech perception of normal‐hearing and hearing‐impaired children in classrooms

1998 ◽  
Vol 103 (5) ◽  
pp. 3063-3063
Author(s):  
Carl C. Crandell ◽  
Gary W. Siebein ◽  
Martin A. Gold ◽  
Mary Jo Hasell ◽  
Philip Abbott ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Normal Hearing ◽  
Hearing Impaired ◽  
Classroom Acoustics ◽  
Impaired Children ◽  
Hearing Impaired Children
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document