TY - JOUR
T1 - Characterizing the Speech Reception Threshold in hearing-impaired listeners in relation to masker type and masker level
AU - Rhebergen, Koenraad S.
AU - Pool, Ruben E.
AU - Dreschler, Wouter A.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - The Speech Reception Threshold [SRT, (dB SNR)] is often used as an outcome measure to quantify the acuity for speech perception in noise. The majority of studies observe speech intelligibility in noise at a fixed noise level. However, the observed SNR might be an ambiguous outcome measure because it is dependent on the sensation level (SL) of the noise in the case of a non-stationary noise. Due to their higher thresholds, hearing-impaired listeners are usually tested at a different SL compared to normal-hearing listeners. Therefore, the observed SNR "itself" might not be a robust outcome measure to characterize the differences in performance between normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners, within and between different studies. In this paper, the SRTs are measured at a fixed absolute noise level (80 dBA) and at a fixed SL (25 dB). The results are discussed and described with an extension to the SRT model of Plomp [(1986). "A signal-to-noise ratio model for the speech-receptionthreshold of the hearing-impaired," J. Speech Hear. Res. 29, 146-154] and the Extended Speech Intelligibility Index. In addition, two alternative outcome measures are proposed which are, in contrast to the SNR, independent of the noise level. These outcome measures are able to characterize the SRT performance in fluctuating noise in a more uniform and unambiguous way
AB - The Speech Reception Threshold [SRT, (dB SNR)] is often used as an outcome measure to quantify the acuity for speech perception in noise. The majority of studies observe speech intelligibility in noise at a fixed noise level. However, the observed SNR might be an ambiguous outcome measure because it is dependent on the sensation level (SL) of the noise in the case of a non-stationary noise. Due to their higher thresholds, hearing-impaired listeners are usually tested at a different SL compared to normal-hearing listeners. Therefore, the observed SNR "itself" might not be a robust outcome measure to characterize the differences in performance between normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners, within and between different studies. In this paper, the SRTs are measured at a fixed absolute noise level (80 dBA) and at a fixed SL (25 dB). The results are discussed and described with an extension to the SRT model of Plomp [(1986). "A signal-to-noise ratio model for the speech-receptionthreshold of the hearing-impaired," J. Speech Hear. Res. 29, 146-154] and the Extended Speech Intelligibility Index. In addition, two alternative outcome measures are proposed which are, in contrast to the SNR, independent of the noise level. These outcome measures are able to characterize the SRT performance in fluctuating noise in a more uniform and unambiguous way
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4864301
DO - https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4864301
M3 - Article
C2 - 24606285
SN - 0001-4966
VL - 135
SP - 1491
EP - 1505
JO - Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
JF - Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
IS - 3
ER -