Effect of within- and between-talker variability on word identification in noise by younger and older adults

Authors

  • Huiwen Goy Dept. of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd North, Ont. L5L 1C6, Canada
  • Kathy Pichora-Fuller Dept. of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd North, Ont. L5L 1C6, Canada
  • Pascal Van Lieshout Dept. of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd North, Ont. L5L 1C6, Canada
  • Gurjit Singh Dept. of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd North, Ont. L5L 1C6, Canada
  • Bruce Schneider Dept. of Psychology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Rd North, Ont. L5L 1C6, Canada

Keywords:

Audiometers, Earphones, Noise abatement, Sound reproduction, Threshold elements, Audiometric thresholds, Context-sentences, Multi-talker babble, Word identification

Abstract

The effect of within-and between-talker variability on word identification in noise by younger and older adults was demonstrated. The participants included 16 younger and 16 older adults that spoke English and had pure-tone audiometric thresholds of &le25 dB HL at frequencies from .25 to 3 kHz in the test ear. The stimuli used were the eight sentence lists of the SPIN-R test and each list contained 25 low-context and 20 high context-sentences. Each participant was tested on the eight lists with list order counterbalanced and sentences were presented monaurally under TDH-50P earphones at 50 dB SL. Each sentence was presented with corresponding files of multi-talker babble at 0 dB S:N and each participant was instructed to report the last word of every sentence. The results show that the younger adults correctly identified more words in noise than older adults and the word identification was best for talking conditions with louder noise environments.

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Published

2007-09-01

How to Cite

1.
Goy H, Pichora-Fuller K, Van Lieshout P, Singh G, Schneider B. Effect of within- and between-talker variability on word identification in noise by younger and older adults. Canadian Acoustics [Internet]. 2007 Sep. 1 [cited 2022 Jan. 29];35(3):108-9. Available from: https://jcaa.caa-aca.ca/index.php/jcaa/article/view/1924

Issue

Vol. 35 No. 3 (2007)

Section

Proceedings of the Acoustics Week in Canada

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