Effects of noise type and signal‐to‐noise ratio on speech intelligibility and the speech transmission index.

2010 ◽  
Vol 127 (3) ◽  
pp. 1822-1822
Author(s):  
Stephen D. Secules
2020 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 233121652097034
Author(s):  
Florian Langner ◽  
Andreas Büchner ◽  
Waldo Nogueira

Cochlear implant (CI) sound processing typically uses a front-end automatic gain control (AGC), reducing the acoustic dynamic range (DR) to control the output level and protect the signal processing against large amplitude changes. It can also introduce distortions into the signal and does not allow a direct mapping between acoustic input and electric output. For speech in noise, a reduction in DR can result in lower speech intelligibility due to compressed modulations of speech. This study proposes to implement a CI signal processing scheme consisting of a full acoustic DR with adaptive properties to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and overall speech intelligibility. Measurements based on the Short-Time Objective Intelligibility measure and an electrodogram analysis, as well as behavioral tests in up to 10 CI users, were used to compare performance with a single-channel, dual-loop, front-end AGC and with an adaptive back-end multiband dynamic compensation system (Voice Guard [VG]). Speech intelligibility in quiet and at a +10 dB signal-to-noise ratio was assessed with the Hochmair–Schulz–Moser sentence test. A logatome discrimination task with different consonants was performed in quiet. Speech intelligibility was significantly higher in quiet for VG than for AGC, but intelligibility was similar in noise. Participants obtained significantly better scores with VG than AGC in the logatome discrimination task. The objective measurements predicted significantly better performance estimates for VG. Overall, a dynamic compensation system can outperform a single-stage compression (AGC + linear compression) for speech perception in quiet.


2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (01) ◽  
pp. 038-049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle H. Saunders ◽  
Kathleen M. Cienkowski

Measurement of hearing aid outcome is particularly difficult because there are numerous dimensions to consider (e.g., performance, satisfaction, benefit). Often there are discrepancies between scores in these dimensions. It is difficult to reconcile these discrepancies because the materials and formats used to measure each dimension are so very different. We report data obtained with an outcome measure that examines both objective and subjective dimensions with the same test format and materials and gives results in the same unit of measurement (signal-to-noise ratio). Two variables are measured: a “performance” speech reception threshold and a “perceptual” speech reception threshold. The signal-to-noise ratio difference between these is computed to determine the perceptual-performance discrepancy (PPDIS). The results showed that, on average, 48 percent of the variance in subjective ratings of a hearing aid could be explained by a combination of the performance speech reception threshold and the PPDIS. These findings suggest that the measure is potentially a valuable clinical tool.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodmonga Potapova ◽  
Maria Grigorieva

This paper discusses the results of the pilot experimental research dedicated to speech recognition and perception of the semantic content of the utterances in noisy environment. The experiment included perceptual-auditory analysis of words and phrases in Russian and German (in comparison) in the same noisy environment: various (pink and white) types of noise with various levels of signal-to-noise ratio. The statistical analysis showed that intelligibility and perception of the speech in noisy environment are influenced not only by noise type and its signal-to-noise ratio, but also by some linguistic and extralinguistic factors, such as the existing redundancy of a particular language at various levels of linguistic structure, changes in the acoustic characteristics of the speaker while switching from one language to another one, the level of speaker and listener’s proficiency in a specific language, and acoustic characteristics of the speaker’s voice.


2009 ◽  
Vol 20 (01) ◽  
pp. 028-039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Adams ◽  
Robert E. Moore

Purpose: To study the effect of noise on speech rate judgment and signal-to-noise ratio threshold (SNR50) at different speech rates (slow, preferred, and fast). Research Design: Speech rate judgment and SNR50 tasks were completed in a normal-hearing condition and a simulated hearing-loss condition. Study Sample: Twenty-four female and six male young, normal-hearing participants. Results: Speech rate judgment was not affected by background noise regardless of hearing condition. Results of the SNR50 task indicated that, as speech rate increased, performance decreased for both hearing conditions. There was a moderate correlation between speech rate judgment and SNR50 with the various speech rates, such that as judgment of speech rate increased from too slow to too fast, performance deteriorated. Conclusions: These findings can be used to support the need for counseling patients and their families about the potential advantages to using average speech rates or rates that are slightly slowed while conversing in the presence of background noise.


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