How Face Masks Interfere With Speech Understanding of Normal-Hearing Individuals: Vision Makes the Difference.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

To investigate the effects of wearing a simulated mask on speech perception of normal-hearing subjects.

Study design

Prospective cohort study.

Setting

University hospital.

Patients

Fifteen normal-hearing, native German speakers (8 female, 7 male).

Intervention

Different experimental conditions with and without simulated face masks using the audiovisual version of the female German Matrix test (Oldenburger Satztest, OLSA).

Main outcome measures

Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at speech intelligibility of 80%.

Results

The SNR at which 80% speech intelligibility was achieved deteriorated by a mean of 4.1 dB SNR when simulating a medical mask and by 5.1 dB SNR when simulating a cloth mask in comparison to the audiovisual condition without

SUBMITTER: Sonnichsen R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8843397 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature