Abstract:
Objective: The objectives of the study were to evaluate the effect of number of talkers (2-talker, 4-talker, 8-talker, 10-talker and 12-talker) in native (Kannada) and non-native (English) speech babble on acceptable noise level (ANL) in individuals with normal hearing; and to compare ANL obtained in the presence of Kannada speech babble with that of English speech babble across different number of talker babbles.Study sample: Thirty participants between in the age range of 18-24 years with normal hearing sensitivity participated in the study. ANL was obtained in the presence of different number of talkers in English and Kannada languages.Results: The results revealed that Kannada talker babble had lower ANL for 8-talker babble whereas in English, 2-talker babble had the lowest ANL. The results also showed that ANL was lower when Kannada babble was used when compared to English babble. The reason for this result could be due to familiarity with the languages and the similarity between the two languages of interest.