Influence of different types of noise on sentence recognition in normally hearing adults

Abstract

Objective: to analyze speech perception in normally hearing adults when listening in silence and with different types of noise. Methods: 40 individuals of both sexes, aged 18 to 45 years, participated in the study. Speech perception was assessed with the Lists of Sentences in Portuguese test, without a competing noise and with speech-spectrum, babble, and cocktail party noise. A mixed-effects linear regression model and the 95% confidence interval were used. Results: the subjects’ performance was worse in the three types of noise than in silence. When comparing the types of noise, differences were found in all combinations (speech-spectrum X babble, speech-spectrum X cocktail party, and babble X cocktail party), with a worse performance in babble, noise, followed by cocktail party. Conclusion: all noises negatively influenced speech perception, with a worse performance in babble, followed by cocktail party and speech-spectrum.