The Effects of Hearing Loss on Speech Communication and the Perception of Other Sounds.
Abstract
Noise-induced hearing loss acts as a low-pass filter for individuals receiving speech sounds or warning signals. These losses can also cause some degree of distortion in the auditory system, necessitating a speech-to-noise ratio of up to 10 dB more favorable to achieve speech recognition comparable to a normal-hearing listener. These distortions may appear in the frequency, intensity, and temporal domains. Hearing in the high-frequency range is important for understanding speech in noisy conditions, or when speech has been distorted by, for example, reverberation or filtering. Recent research targets the point of beginning hearing handicap or 'low fence' as an average hearing threshold level between 15 and 30 dB for the audiometric frequencies 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hz. The effects of hearing impairment on speech may be estimated by various frequency-filter models, which need to be adjusted to account for the distortion component. There is lack of data on the ability of hearing-impaired listeners to detect and recognize warning signals, although predictions based on filtering models indicate that differences between normal-hearing and hearing-impaired listeners are small. (kr)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA212480
Entities
People
- Alice H. Suter
Organizations
- Gallaudet University