Whole-signal degradation blocks the top-down cues that help partial masking

Evidence

Processing of speech, especially in one’s native language, is supported by world knowledge, the contextual frame of the conversation, and the semantic content. As a consequence, listeners can understand speech even under adverse conditions, where it is partially masked or degraded. Access to these signal-independent sources of information can, however, be compromised if the entire speech signal is degraded, rather than parts of it. This is the case for profoundly hearing impaired listeners who rely on the signal transmitted via a cochlear implant (CI) for verbal communication. — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3955

Categorization

• XREF: Ties to the reader’s interest in the physiology and psychoacoustics of normal hearing vs. impaired hearing — full-signal vs partial degradation is a key distinction.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Dijk, Pim van, Physiology, Psychoacoustics and…, 3955