The effect of fundamental frequency contour similarity on multi-talker listening in older and younger adults

Peter A Wasiuk; Mathieu Lavandier; Emily Buss; Jacob Oleson; Lauren Calandruccio

doi:10.1121/10.0002661

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The effect of fundamental frequency contour similarity on multi-talker listening in older and younger adults

Journal article

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The effect of fundamental frequency contour similarity on multi-talker listening in older and younger adults

Peter A Wasiuk, Mathieu Lavandier, Emily Buss, Jacob Oleson and Lauren Calandruccio

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol.148(6), pp.3527-3543

12/2020

DOI: 10.1121/10.0002661

PMCID: PMC7863686

PMID: 33379934

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7863686View

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Abstract

Older adults with hearing loss have greater difficulty recognizing target speech in multi-talker environments than young adults with normal hearing, especially when target and masker speech streams are perceptually similar. A difference in fundamental frequency (f0) contour depth is an effective stream segregation cue for young adults with normal hearing. This study examined whether older adults with varying degrees of sensorineural hearing loss are able to utilize differences in target/masker f0 contour depth to improve speech recognition in multi-talker listening. Speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) were measured for speech mixtures composed of target/masker streams with flat, normal, and exaggerated speaking styles, in which f0 contour depth systematically varied. Computational modeling estimated differences in energetic masking across listening conditions. Young adults had lower SRTs than older adults; a result that was partially explained by differences in audibility predicted by the model. However, audibility differences did not explain why young adults experienced a benefit from mismatched target/masker f0 contour depth, while in most conditions, older adults did not. Reduced ability to use segregation cues (differences in target/masker f0 contour depth), and deficits grouping speech with variable f0 contours likely contribute to difficulties experienced by older adults in challenging acoustic environments.

Details

Title: Subtitle: The effect of fundamental frequency contour similarity on multi-talker listening in older and younger adults
Creators: Peter A Wasiuk - Department of Psychological Sciences, 11635 Euclid Avenue, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA
Mathieu Lavandier - Univ. Lyon, ENTPE, Laboratoire Génie Civil et Bâtiment, Rue M. Audin, Vaulx-en-Velin Cedex, 69518, France
Emily Buss - Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University of North Carolina, CB#7070, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA
Jacob Oleson - Department of Biostatistics, N300 CPHB, University of Iowa, 145 North Riverside Drive, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2007, USA
Lauren Calandruccio - Department of Psychological Sciences, 11635 Euclid Avenue, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol.148(6), pp.3527-3543
DOI: 10.1121/10.0002661
PMID: 33379934
PMCID: PMC7863686
NLM abbreviation: J Acoust Soc Am
ISSN: 0001-4966
eISSN: 1520-8524
Publisher: American Institute of Physics; United States
Grant note: R03 DC015074 / NIDCD NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 12/2020
Academic Unit: Biostatistics; Otolaryngology
Record Identifier: 9984067700302771

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