Effect of Rhythm of the Background Language and Working Memory on Speech Perception in Elderly Hearing-Impaired Individuals

Abstract

Aim: The present study aimed to understand the effect of different non-native background languages based on rhythmic similarity and familiarity on speech perception of native language and the influence of hearing impairment in elderly individuals. Method: Four non-native languages were chosen for constructing babble based on rhythm and familiarity analysis of 11 languages. Two-talker babble was generated for these languages, and speech-shaped noise conditions were generated using the Long-Term Average Speech Spectrum of non-native languages and mixed with target Kannada sentences at different SNRs. SNR-50 was obtained in two groups of elderly individuals (Group I with 30 normal hearing and Group II with 30 mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss), and the magnitude of informational masking was calculated. Results: Repeated measures Analysis of Variance showed that the main effect of rhythm and the main effect of familiarity were significant. The main effect of group and interaction effects were not significant. Multiple pairwise comparisons using Bonferroni’s correction showed a significant difference in the mean magnitude of informational masking between all the languages except Hindi and Nepali (rhythmically similar languages), indicating the influence of rhythm. Conclusion: Rhythmically similar languages provide a similar degree of masking effectiveness. Thus, it is proposed that the rhythm of the background language has a significant impact on the effectiveness of masking. There was also a pronounced effect of familiarity of the language on the magnitude of informational masking.