Effect of Noise on Speech Intelligibility and Perceived Listening Effort in Head and Neck Cancer

Abstract

Purpose This study (a) examined the effect of different levels of background noise on speech intelligibility and perceived listening effort in speakers with impaired and intact speech following treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC) and (b) determined the relative contribution of speech intelligibility, speaker group, and background noise to a measure of perceived listening effort. Method Ten speakers diagnosed with nasal, oral, or oropharyngeal HNC provided audio recordings of six sentences from the Sentence Intelligibility Test. All speakers were 100% intelligible in quiet: Five speakers with HNC exhibited mild speech imprecisions (speech impairment group), and five speakers with HNC demonstrated intact speech (HNC control group). Speech recordings were presented to 30 inexperienced listeners, who transcribed the sentences and rated perceived listening effort in quiet and two levels (+7 and +5 dB SNR) of background noise. Results Significant Group × Noise interactions were found for speech intelligibility and perceived listening effort. While no differences in speech intelligibility were found between the speaker groups in quiet, the results showed that, as the signal-to-noise ratio decreased, speakers with intact speech (HNC control) performed significantly better (greater intelligibility, less perceived listening effort) than those with speech imprecisions in the two noise conditions. Perceived listening effort was also shown to be associated with decreased speech intelligibility, imprecise speech, and increased background noise. Conclusions Speakers with HNC who are 100% intelligible in quiet but who exhibit some degree of imprecise speech are particularly vulnerable to the effects of increased background noise in comparison to those with intact speech. Results have implications for speech evaluations, counseling, and rehabilitation.

Impact of perceptual-learning strategies and background noise on disordered speech intelligibility

“…Across speaker modes, alaryngeal speakers experienced a mean 29% reduction, followed by a 13% reduction for dysphonic speakers, and a 3% mean reduction in speech intelligibility from the quiet listening condition to the noisy or 0 dB SNR. The fi nding that disordered speech was more vulnerable to background noise was also consistent with previous research on speakers with a disordered voice [2,45]. It should be noted that the speakers used in the Ishikawa, et al (2017) included two speakers with normal voice quality ratings (< 10 mm on the CAPE-V overall severity) and the remaining four speakers were rated as mild-moderately dysphonic (35 mm -53 mm on the CAPE-V overall severity).…”

“…The fi nding that increased background noise negatively impacted speech intelligibility is not new. This is true for typical, healthy speakers [44] as well as speakers with dysarthria [38], dysphonia [37], and laryngectomy [2]. Across speaker modes, alaryngeal speakers experienced a mean 29% reduction, followed by a 13% reduction for dysphonic speakers, and a 3% mean reduction in speech intelligibility from the quiet listening condition to the noisy or 0 dB SNR.…”

“…While this is certainly true for typical, healthy speakers, a nascent body of research is showing that disordered speakers are particularly vulnerable to reduced speech intelligibility, especially in the presence of background noise [2]. Such results have been shown for speakers with Parkinson's Disease [34,35], alaryngeal speakers [2,36], and speakers with dysphonia [37].…”

“…Decades of research have shown that each plays a pivotal role in the successful verbal exchange of ideas. One group particularly vulnerable to impaired communication are those speakers with either a speech or voice disorder [2]. The two main outcome measures typically utilized in the research to determine a speaker's ability to transmit ideas successfully to the listener are speech intelligibility and listener comprehension.…”

Peer attitudes towards adolescents with speech disorders due to cleft lip and palate

“…Despite the use of spontaneous speech without content control, it does reflect the speech in everyday life [76,77]. Additionally, the audio and audiovisual sample contained background music and noise, what can also reduce speech intelligibility [69,[78][79][80].…”