Very high speech levels can reduce word recognition scores.

Evidence

The importance function of Studebaker and Sherbecoe ( 2002 ) also attributes negative contribution to very high SNRs (> 30 dB on average across frequency bands) regarding speech intelligibility. This negative contribution might be due to high sound levels used in their study which could have led to poorer word recognition scores (Dubno et al. 2005 ). Their derived importance functions take into account both the effect of SNR and absolute speech level. It would be preferable to separate the influence of these two parameters. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3581

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to loudness discomfort and non-monotonic audibility curves discussed in hearing-aid fitting literature.