A preliminary study on time-compressed speech recognition in noise among teenage students who use personal listening devices

Abstract

Objective: To compare speech perception obtained with different time compression rates in teenagers that do or do not use personal listening devices (PLDs).

Design: Teenagers in a high school were recruited to complete questionnaires reporting their recreational noise exposure using PLDs. The dose of individual recreational noise exposure was calculated. The individuals with the most and least doses of recreational noise were selected and grouped into PLD users and non-PLD users. Normal rate and time-compressed (60% and 70%) speech recognition in quiet and noisy conditions was measured.

Study sample: PLD user and non-PLD user group each included 20 participants.

Results: ANOVA analysis showed that the effect of group, background, compression rate, and interactions between any two factors are significant. Post hoc analysis showed that the speech recognition scores with normal rate in quiet and noise and those obtained from time-compressed speech in the quiet condition were not significantly different between PLD users and non-PLD users. However, differences in the time-compressed speech recognition scores (60% and 70%) in noisy conditions between the two groups were statistically significant.

Conclusions: The fast-speed speech recognition in noise decreased significantly in PLD users compared with that in non-PLD users selected by extreme entertainment exposure.

Keywords:

• Speech recognition
• time compression
• recreational noise exposure

Disclosure statement

All authors declare no financial interest or benefit that has arisen from the direct applications of this research.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission/Gaofeng Clinical Medicine Grant Support under grant number 20152526; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant number 81771015) and the Three-year Action Program on Promotion of Clinical Skills/Clinical Innovation for Municipal Hospitals under grant number 16CR4027A.