Contribution
Noise and Reverberation Impair Phoneme Perception in Children More Than in Adults
* Presenting author
Abstract:
Children often experience difficulties understanding speech in noisy and reverberant environments. In this study, we evaluated phoneme discrimination in silence, noise, and reverberation using a new phoneme discrimination test. The test was assessed in young, healthy adults and children, both with and without hearing devices.Recordings from the DANOK nonsense speech corpus were presented in a child-friendly lab setup using a loudspeaker array. Signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) were adjusted between 0-15 dB, while reverberation times were set at 0, 0.6, and 1.7 seconds. Results showed that adults achieved high accuracy (90% or higher) at SNRs of 5 dB or greater, with reverberation having little impact at SNRs of 15 dB or higher. However, performance declined at more challenging noise levels (0 dB SNR) and worsened further with increasing reverberation, reaching 60% at the most extreme reverberation time (1.7s). Noticeably, children were adversely affected by both noise and reverberation. Performance was even lower for children using hearing devices, with scores dropping to 30-40% in the most reverberant environment.The finding underscores the need for greater awareness, as children do not rely on contextual cues as effectively as adults, which may affect their wellbeing in social environments such as sports halls and playgrounds.