UBC Theses and Dissertations

UBC Theses Logo

UBC Theses and Dissertations

Speech discrimination in noise for listeners with normal hearing and listeners with noise-induced hearing loss Mack, Brenda Elisabet

Abstract

The present study investigates the effect of low-pass noise on the speech discrimination performance of 18 subjects with normal hearing and 18 subjects with noise-induced high-frequency hearing loss. W-22 word lists, low-pass filtered at 2000 Hz, were presented in sound field with a pink noise masker at three stimulus levels and three signal-to-noise ratios. Results indicated that the word discrimination performance of both groups deteriorated with increasing levels of noise and with increasing stimulus intensity levels, with the hearing-impaired group performing at a lower level throughout. While noise was shown to have a differential effect on the speech discrimination of the two groups, a satisfactory explanation of the effect, based on the study of Kiang and Moxon [Tails of tuning curves of auditory nerve fibres. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 1974, 55, 620-630] was not supported using the present experimental conditions.

Item Media

Item Citations and Data

Rights

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.