Perceptual impairments directly cause speech perception problems in natural environments

Evidence

Hearing loss has been shown to reduce speech understanding in spatialized multitalker listening situations, leading to the common belief that spatial processing is disrupted by hearing loss. This paper describes related studies from three laboratories that explored the contribution of reduced target audibility to this deficit. All studies used a stimulus configuration in which a speech target presented from the front was masked by speech maskers presented symmetrically from the sides. Together these studies highlight the importance of adequate stimulus audibility for optimal performance in spatialized speech mixtures and suggest that reduced access to target speech information might explain a substantial portion of the “spatial” deficit observed in listeners with hearing loss. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1719 (#qualifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Perceptual deficits correlate poorly with audiogram thresholds and vary widely; Small amounts of hearing loss disproportionately impair speech-in-noise perception — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5472; Speech processing deficits can impair understanding independent of hearing (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Speech processing deficits can impair understanding independent of hearing #corroborates (0.82)
• Reduced target audibility, not spatial processing loss, explains much of the hearing-loss speech deficit #qualifies (0.82) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 1719
• Small amounts of hearing loss disproportionately impair speech-in-noise perception #qualifies (0.80) — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 5472
• Deficits in any perceptual dimension impair everyday communication #expands (0.80)
• Perceptual deficits correlate poorly with audiogram thresholds and vary widely #corroborates (0.78)
• Hearing impairment disrupts both place and temporal pitch codes #expands (0.78) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1326
• Hearing aid algorithms distort auditory cues yet still improve speech understanding #complicates (0.75) — Jennifer Lentz, Psychoacoustics- Perception of Normal…, 1777
• Speech perception requires both detection and discrimination of sound components #expands (0.72)