Effects of fundamental frequency and vocal-tract length cues on sentence segregation by listeners with hearing loss.

The purpose was to determine the effect of hearing loss on the ability to separate competing talkers using talker differences in fundamental frequency (F0) and apparent vocal-tract length (VTL). Performance of 13 adults with hearing loss and 6 adults with normal hearing was measured using the Coordinate Response Measure. For listeners with hearing loss, the speech was amplified and filtered according to the NAL-RP hearing aid prescription.

A comparison of presentation levels to maximize word recognition scores.

Background: While testing suprathreshold word recognition at multiple levels is considered best practice, studies on practice patterns do not suggest that this is common practice. Audiologists often test at a presentation level intended to maximize recognition scores, but methods for selecting this level are not well established for a wide range of hearing losses.

Purpose: To determine the presentation level methods that resulted in maximum suprathreshold phoneme-recognition scores while avoiding loudness discomfort.