PURPOSE: To determine whether older blind participants recognize time-compressed speech better than older sighted participants. METHOD: Three groups of adults with normal hearing participated (n = 10/group): (a) older sighted, (b) older blind, and (c) younger sighted listeners. Low-predictability sentences that were uncompressed (0% time compression ratio [TCR]) and compressed at 3 rates (40%, 50%, and 60% TCR) were presented to listeners in quiet and noise. RESULTS: Older blind listeners recognized all time-compressed speech stimuli significantly better than did older sighted listeners in quiet. In noise, the older blind adults recognized the uncompressed and 40% TCR speech stimuli better than did the older sighted adults. Performance differences between the younger sighted adults and older blind adults were not observed. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the notion that older blind adults recognize time-compressed speech considerably better than older sighted adults in quiet and noise. Their performance levels are similar to those of younger adults, suggesting that age-related difficulty in understanding time-compressed speech is not an inevitable consequence of aging. Instead, frequent listening to speech at rapid rates, which was highly correlated with performance of the older blind adults, may be a useful technique to minimize age-related slowing in speech understanding.
PURPOSE: To determine whether older blind participants recognize time-compressed speech better than older sighted participants. METHOD: Three groups of adults with normal hearing participated (n = 10/group): (a) older sighted, (b) older blind, and (c) younger sighted listeners. Low-predictability sentences that were uncompressed (0% time compression ratio [TCR]) and compressed at 3 rates (40%, 50%, and 60% TCR) were presented to listeners in quiet and noise. RESULTS: Older blind listeners recognized all time-compressed speech stimuli significantly better than did older sighted listeners in quiet. In noise, the older blind adults recognized the uncompressed and 40% TCR speech stimuli better than did the older sighted adults. Performance differences between the younger sighted adults and older blind adults were not observed. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the notion that older blind adults recognize time-compressed speech considerably better than older sighted adults in quiet and noise. Their performance levels are similar to those of younger adults, suggesting that age-related difficulty in understanding time-compressed speech is not an inevitable consequence of aging. Instead, frequent listening to speech at rapid rates, which was highly correlated with performance of the older blind adults, may be a useful technique to minimize age-related slowing in speech understanding.
Authors: R Weeks; B Horwitz; A Aziz-Sultan; B Tian; C M Wessinger; L G Cohen; M Hallett; J P Rauschecker Journal: J Neurosci Date: 2000-04-01 Impact factor: 6.167
Authors: Kenneth Hugdahl; Maria Ek; Fiia Takio; Taija Rintee; Jyrki Tuomainen; Christian Haarala; Heikki Hämäläinen Journal: Brain Res Cogn Brain Res Date: 2004-03
Authors: Rebecca E Bieber; Grace H Yeni-Komshian; Maya S Freund; Peter J Fitzgibbons; Sandra Gordon-Salant Journal: J Acoust Soc Am Date: 2018-12 Impact factor: 1.840
Authors: Sandra Gordon-Salant; Grace H Yeni-Komshian; Rebecca E Bieber; David A Jara Ureta; Maya S Freund; Peter J Fitzgibbons Journal: J Speech Lang Hear Res Date: 2019-04-26 Impact factor: 2.297