Vowel Space Area and Speech Intelligibility of Children with Cochlear Implants

Abstract

This study measured speech intelligibility in relation to the vowel space area and the perception of the listener through acoustic analysis of children who had received cochlear implants. It also provided basic data in the evaluation of speech intelligibility by analyzing the correlation between the vowel space area and speech intelligibility. As a research method, the vowel space area was analyzed by obtaining the value of F 1 , F 2 in children three years after receiving cochlear implants, and compared them to normal children by measuring speech intelligibility through interval scaling. A product-moment correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the correlation. Results showed that the vowel space area of the children who had received cochlear implants was significantly different from that of the normal children, though their speech intelligibility showed similar points to those of the normal children. The results of the correlation analysis on the vowel space area and speech intelligibility showed no significant correlation. Therefore, the period of improving intelligibility after receiving cochlear implants and the objective standards of the vowel space area could be established. In addition, the acoustic rating was required to increase the accuracy of the objective measurement in the evaluation of speech intelligibility.