Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol.  2015 Mar;8(1):26-33. 10.3342/ceo.2015.8.1.26.

Vowel Perception in Listeners With Normal Hearing and in Listeners With Hearing Loss: A Preliminary Study

• Hedrick M
• Charles L
• Street ND

• KMID: 1973484
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3342/ceo.2015.8.1.26

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
To determine the influence of hearing loss on perception of vowel slices.
METHODS
Fourteen listeners aged 20-27 participated; ten (6 males) had hearing within normal limits and four (3 males) had moderate-severe sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Stimuli were six naturally-produced words consisting of the vowels /i a u ae epsilon / in a /b V b/ context. Each word was presented as a whole and in eight slices: the initial transition, one half and one fourth of initial transition, full central vowel, one-half central vowel, ending transition, one half and one fourth of ending transition. Each of the 54 stimuli was presented 10 times at 70 dB SPL (sound press level); listeners were asked to identify the word. Stimuli were shaped using signal processing software for the listeners with SNHL to mimic gain provided by an appropriately-fitting hearing aid.
RESULTS
Listeners with SNHL had a steeper rate of decreasing vowel identification with decreasing slice duration as compared to listeners with normal hearing, and the listeners with SNHL showed different patterns of vowel identification across vowels when compared to listeners with normal hearing.
CONCLUSION
Abnormal temporal integration is likely affecting vowel identification for listeners with SNHL, which in turn affects vowel internal representation at different levels of the auditory system.

Keyword

Hearing Loss; Sensorineura; Speech Perception; Phonetics

MeSH Terms

Hearing Aids
Hearing Loss*
Hearing Loss, Sensorineural
Hearing*
Phonetics
Speech Perception

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 A spectrogram of the whole syllable "beeb," illustrating the slices for vowel centers and transitions.

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  Fig. 2 Mean number correct vowel identifications for whole syllable, vowel center and half vowel center slices. In this and succeeding figures, Results show that HI listeners do as well as NH listeners in identifying the vowel when the whole syllable is presented. But, when only the steady-state or center of the vowel, or only half the center part of the vowel, is present, the HI listeners are significantly poorer in identifying the vowel correctly compared to the NH listeners. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. Asterisks indicate significant differences between NH and HI listeners for the vowel centers and half vowel centers (**P<0.01). NH, listeners with normal hearing; HI, listeners with hearing loss.

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  Fig. 3 Mean number correct vowel identifications for initial transition, half and quarter initial transition. Although there was a statistically significant overall difference between groups, none of the group comparisons for whole transition, half transition, or quarter transition reached statistical significance. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. NH, listeners with normal hearing; HI, listeners with hearing loss.

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  Fig. 4 Mean number correct vowel identifications for final transition, half and quarter final transition. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. Asterisks indicate significant differences between NH and HI for the whole transitions and half transitions (**P<0.01). That is, when only the end part of the syllable, or half of the ending part, is present, the HI listeners are significantly poorer at correctly identifying the syllable vowel than are the NH listeners. NH, listeners with normal hearing; HI, listeners with hearing loss.

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