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Original Article

The effect of a hearing aid noise reduction algorithm on the acquisition of novel speech contrasts

Los efectos de algoritmo de reducción del ruido del auxiliar auditivo en la adquisición de nuevos contrastes en el habla

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Pages 707-714 | Published online: 07 Jul 2009
 

Abstract

Audiologists are reluctant to prescribe digital hearing aids with active digital noise reduction (DNR) to pre-verbal children due to their potential for an adverse effect on the acquisition of language. The present study investigated the relation between DNR and language acquisition by modeling pre-verbal language acquisition using adult listeners presented with a non-native speech contrast. Two groups of normal-hearing, monolingual Anglophone subjects were trained over four testing sessions to discriminate novel, difficult to discriminate, non-native Hindi speech contrasts in continuous noise, where one group listened to both speech items and noise processed with DNR, and where the other group listened to unprocessed speech in noise. Results did not reveal a significant difference in performance between groups across testing sessions. A significant learning effect was noted for both groups between the first and second testing sessions only. Overall, DNR does not appear to enhance or impair the acquisition of novel speech contrasts by adult listeners.

Sumario

Los audiólogos se muestran reticentes a prescribir auxiliares auditivos digitales con reducción activa del ruido digital (DNR) a niños pre-verbales, debido a su potencial para ejercer un efecto negativo en la adquisición del lenguaje. El presente estudio investigó la relación entre la DNR y la adquisición del lenguaje, estableciendo un modelo de adquisición pre-verbal del lenguaje utilizando sujetos adultos expuestos a contrastes no nativos del lenguaje. Se entrenó durante cuatro sesiones a dos grupos de sujetos normo-oyentes, anglófonos monolingües, para discriminar nuevos contrastes de un lenguaje hindú no nativo, de difícil discriminación, en ruido continuo, donde un grupo escuchó tanto el lenguaje y el ruido procesados con la DNR, y el otro grupo escuchó el ruido y el lenguaje sin procesamiento. Los resultados no revelaron una diferencia significativa en el rendimiento de los grupos en las sesiones de prueba. Se notó un significativo efecto de aprendizaje en ambos grupos, solamente entre la primera y la segunda sesión. Globalmente, la DNR no parece incrementar o afectar la adquisición en oyentes adultos de nuevos contrastes en el habla.

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