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Nov 1981

Volume 70, Issue S1, pp. S1-S109

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back to top Session VV. Speech Communication VII: Intelligibility; Speech Discrimination
Contributed Papers
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Evaluation of phonemic responses to four standardized speech discrimination tests under telephone listening conditions by normal and hearing impaired individuals (A)

Marilyn French‐St. George, Richard G. Stoker, and Chie H. Craig

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 70, Issue S1, pp. S107-S108 (1981); (2 pages)

Online Publication Date: 12 Aug 2005

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This study compares the phonemic responses of normal and hearing impaired subjects under telephone listening conditions in quiet and in a background of multitalker noise (65‐dB SPL). Four standardized speech discrimination tests (CID W‐22, NU #6, SPIN and Boothroyd's Isophonemic word lists} were utilized. Prerecorded word lists were presented to the subjects, via a standard telephone handset. the output of which simulated typical telephone line acoustic characteristics. The noise was presented from a loudspeaker (0 azimuth). Subjects repeated back each word that they heard and broad phonetic transcriptions were made of their responses. The results will be analyzed to address the following questions: (1) are subjects' responses to particular tests differentially affected under the various telephone listening conditions? and (2) Is there a test or combination of tests which would be suitable for future research and clinical evaluation of the telephone listening abilities of the hearing impaired?
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A comparison of three conversational tests for the evaluation of voice communication equipment (A)

A. Schmidt‐Nielsen and Stephanie S. Everett

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 70, Issue S1, pp. S108-S108 (1981); (1 page) | Cited 1 time

Online Publication Date: 12 Aug 2005

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Intelligibility tests (e.g., Rhyme Tests or PB words) and quality tests (e.g., various rating scales) are often used to evaluate and compare voice communication systems. Whether tape recordings or live talkers are used, such tests are unidirectional and do not involve active two‐way communications. Particularly in cases where the speech is likely to be degraded, as in low data rate digital voice communications, it is important to assess the actual usability of the system in a two‐way situation where the talker can try to adapt his speaking habits to the special requirements of the system. Tests were conducted over a clear channel and nine digital voice processors with data rates from 800 to 32 000 bits/s. Three different conversational tests were used and their ability to differentiate among the processors was compared. [Work supported by ONR.]
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The effects of frequency response smoothness and high‐frequency range on speech intelligibility in noise (A)

Steven P. Bornstein, Kenneth J. Randolph, Antonia Maxon, and Thomas Giolas

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 70, Issue S1, pp. S108-S108 (1981); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 12 Aug 2005

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The effects of the electroacoustic parameters of frequency response smoothness and high‐frequency range on speech intelligibility in noise were examined. Two major questions were asked: (1) Does a smooth frequency response provide better speech intelligibility in noise than an irregular frequency response? (2) Does speech intelligibility increase as high‐frequency range is increased? The irregular response consisted of 3–5 peaks, one‐third octave wide and 10 dB in amplitude. The high‐frequency range conditions were low‐pass filtered at 4000, 6000, and 9000 Hz. Two different measures of speech intelligibility, the Tri‐Word Test of Intelligibility [Sergeant et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 65, 218–223 (1979)], and The Nonsense Syllable Test [Levitt et al., Commun. Sci. Lab. Res. Rep. 11, C.U.N.Y. (1978)] were processed through a master hearing aid and then presented at 80 dB SPL, with noise competition 5 dB lower, to 18 normal hearing subjects listening in the sound field at zero degrees azimuth. Best speech intelligibility occurred when providing a smooth frequency response with the widest high‐frequency range. The effects of providing a smooth frequency response and high‐frequency spectral information will be discussed both in terms of basic speech communication processes and regarding application to persons with impaired hearing.
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Speech intelligibility as a function of hearing aid microphone location (A)

Richard C. Seewald, Steven P. Bornstein, and Kenneth J. Randolph

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 70, Issue S1, pp. S108-S108 (1981); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 12 Aug 2005

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The contribution to speech intelligibility of the resonance effects of the ear canal and pinna has been of recent research interest. The present study investigated these effects by comparing monaural and binaural speech intelligibility between over‐the‐ear and in‐the‐ear microphone locations, utilizing a master hearing aid which controlled for other electroacoustic effects, The experimental design also allowed examination of the effects of azimuth on both monaural and binaural aided speech intelligibility. Items of the Tri‐Word Test of Intelligibility [Sergeant et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 65, 218–223 (1979)] were presented randomly from five loudspeakers equally separated on the front semicircle against an uncorrelated multiple‐talker background. The results generally favored the in‐the‐ear microphone location. Binaural squelch was demonstrated.
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A comparative evaluation of multiple‐choice word intelligibility tests (A)

Nallan C. A. Chari, Lloyd L. Price, Thomas F. Williams, and Jean F. Kernaghan

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 70, Issue S1, pp. S108-S108 (1981); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 12 Aug 2005

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Intelligibility scores obtained with the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT), Oklahoma University Closed‐Response Test (OUCRT), and the California Consonant Test (CCT) were compared. The word lists were recorded by a male speaker with general American English dialect. Twenty‐four normal‐hearing subjects heard the three lists monaurally at most comfortable loudness level. Four listening conditions, namely, lowband (100–1500 Hz), highband (2000–6000 Hz), speech‐in‐noise (S/N ratio = 0 dB), and wideband (100–6000 Hz) were employed. The mean intelligibility scores for the three lists across the four listening conditions ranged from 99.2% through 45.3%. An analysis of these findings from practical considerations will be discussed.
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Speech discrimination assessment with three closed‐response word tests (A)

Thomas F. Williams, Jean F. Kernaghan, Nallan C. A. Chari, and Lloyd L. Price

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 70, Issue S1, pp. S108-S108 (1981); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 12 Aug 2005

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Word discrimination scores for 24 sensori‐neural heating‐impaired subjects obtained on the Modified Rhyme Test (MRT), Oklahoma University Closed‐Response Test (OUCRT), and the California Consonant Test (CCT) were compared. The three word lists were recorded by a male speaker with general American English dialect. The lists were presented monaurally at most comfortable loudness level under four listening conditions: lowband (100–1500 Hz), highband (2000–6000 Hz), speech‐in‐noise (S/N ratio = 0 dB), and wideband (100–6000 Hz). The subjects scored highest (81.8%‐54.6%) on the MRT and lowest (71.9%‐40.4%) on the CCT across the conditions employed. Implication of these results in the assessment of speech discrimination skills of the hearing impaired will be presented.
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Failure of formant bandwidth narrowing to improve speech reception in sensorineural impairment (A)

Quentin Summerfield, Richard Tyler, John Foster, Elizabeth Wood, and Peter J. Bailey

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 70, Issue S1, pp. S108-S109 (1981); (2 pages)

Online Publication Date: 12 Aug 2005

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Poor auditory frequency resolution resulting in a “blurred” representation of the short‐term speech spectrum may underly the particular difficulty experienced by sensorineurally impaired listeners in distinguishing consonants produced at different places of articulation. To determine whether compensation might be achieved by enhancing the distinctiveness of formant peaks, whispered exemplars of “bet,” “debt,” “get,” “bib,” “bid,” and “big” were synthesized with formant bandwidths varying between unnatural extremes. Psychoacoustical measures of frequency resolution in a combined group of 12 normal and 12 sensorineurally impaired listeners correlated significantly with accuracy of identifying these words although correlations within each group were not systematic. Independently, the psychoacoustical and speech identification measures each suggested that frequency resolution in the impaired group was about four times poorer than normal. The normals' speech‐identification accuracy was near 90% at narrow and normal bandwidths, and deteriorated as bandwidth increased. Impaired listeners scored near 60% at normal bandwidths, and also performed worse as bandwidth increased, but contrary to expectations did not improve as bandwidth was narrowed. Possibly, unnaturalness outweighed any advantages of improved formant resolution. Alternatively, little may be gained by making formant bandwidths narrower than the widths of listeners' auditory filters. [Work supported by MRC and by SRC U.K.]
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Effects of hyperbaric HeO2 breathing mixtures on divers′ speech (A)

H. Hollien, J. W. Hicks, Jr., S. Søvik, R. Gelfand, and C. Lambertsen

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 70, Issue S1, pp. S109-S109 (1981); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 12 Aug 2005

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It has been shown that heliox breathing mixtures, plus high ambient pressures, have a deleterious effect upon speech communication. This report attempts to provide more comprehensive information relative to the effects of the HeO2/P environment on speech−especially speech intelligibility, speaking fundamental frequency, and vowel formant shifts; data also are reported on the performance of a speech processor (i.e., the Marconi “unscrambler”). The data base was developed from the recorded speech of divers who read word lists during the decompression phase of a 1600‐ft dive; the speech at the surface and at 560, 1000, 1400, and 1600 fsw was analyzed. Speech intelligibility was found to be severely degraded as a function of depth and helium concentration−but not as seriously as had been reported earlier. These effects probably were due to the experience of the divers and improved equipment. As expected, speaking fundamental frequency rose as a function of increasing depth; the shifts were consistent with those previously reported. The vowel formant data provide, for the first time, a comprehensive evaluation of the HeO2 effects on these speech features. As expected, the data revealed an upward shift in the formants as a function of increasing depth but the patterns were not as systematic as expected. The data were utilized to compute “K factors” for the formant shifts [G. Fant and J. Lindquist, STL‐QPR 1, 7–17 (1968)]. Finally, the effectiveness of the Marconi system, and its implications, will be discussed. [Work supported by the Norwegian Underwater Institute, Bergen.]
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Intelligibility of artificial electronic larynx speech as produced over the telephone (A)

Howard B. Rothman, Lewis P. Goldstein, and Patria A. Flynn

J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 70, Issue S1, pp. S109-S109 (1981); (1 page)

Online Publication Date: 12 Aug 2005

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Currently, there are several methods of acquiring oral speech communication following total laryngectomee. These include esophageal speech, air bypass, tracheo‐esophageal puncture, and pneumatic and electronic larynges. Historically, esophageal speech has been the method of choice with the electronic larynx relegated to use by those unable to learn esophageal speech. This attitude is changing and the use of electronic larynges has become more accepted by laryngectomees and service professionals. Recent literature concerning artificial larynges has dealt with comparing the intelligibility of these devices with other users, esophageal speakers, and normals. Some studies suggest that electronic larynges be used for telephone conversations as they provide greater intensity and intelligibility. The present study compares the intelligibility of four available electronic larynges when recorded over the telephone and under high fidelity conditions. Data analysis will provide percent intelligibility scores for the four devices under both conditions and spectral analysis will provide information relative to the perceived intelligibility of each device.
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