Compression loss most impairs recognition when a syllable is relatively quieter than its neighbors.

Evidence

Specifically, we describe an experiment designed to examine how the loss of cochlear compression affects the recognition of relatively soft syllables occurring in the presence of louder, flanking syllables of varying levels. The aim is to reveal the role of cochlear compression in multi-speaker environments or those with disruptive background noise. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4046 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Paradoxically, electronic volume compression does not improve intelligibility; in many cases it makes it worse, because it can distort the syllabic amplitude variations that help us understand words. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2492 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Loss of peripheral compression alone impairs recognition of low-level syllables between louder ones; Loss of cochlear compression alone impairs hearing soft syllables amid louder ones — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4046; Wide dynamic range compression degrades perception of speech temporal cues like stop consonants (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Loss of peripheral compression alone impairs recognition of low-level syllables between louder ones #corroborates (0.95)
• Loss of cochlear compression alone impairs hearing soft syllables amid louder ones #corroborates (0.92) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4046
• Volume compression worsens speech intelligibility by flattening syllabic amplitude cues #corroborates (0.82) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 2492
• Wide dynamic range compression degrades perception of speech temporal cues like stop consonants #expands (0.75)
• Loud flanking syllables immediately preceding a soft target induce forward masking #corroborates (0.72) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 4045