Challenges for Children with Cochlear Implants in Everyday Listening Scenarios: The Competitive Effect of Noise and Face Masks on Speech Intelligibility

Giuseppina Emma Puglisi, Michele Di Iulio, Pasquale Bottalico, Silvia Murgia, Patrizia Consolino, Massimo Spadola Bisetti, Giuseppe Pittà, Louena Shtrepi, Arianna Astolfi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Speech intelligibility (SI) tests under realistic acoustic scenarios are complex tasks to perform. Optimal acoustics, in terms of reverberation and noise, are thus needed. This is particularly true in the presence of young hard-of-hearing (HoH) children equipped with cochlear implants who need speech to be highly intelligible to learn. During the COVID-19 pandemic starting in early 2020, wearing face masks became common to avoid the spread of infection, mainly impacting the increasingly challenging task of listening for HoH listeners. This study investigated the influence of different types of face masks on speech intelligibility and listening difficulty under competitive noise scenarios. Fourteen children with cochlear implants were involved, as well as six children with typical hearing. Three types of face masks with different acoustic, filtration, and breathability characteristics were considered; three signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of +10 dB, +5 dB, and 0 dB were used. As expected, lower SNRs corresponded to lower speech intelligibility, and SI without a mask was similar to that obtained with a mask at the lowest acoustic attenuation, albeit with a low filtration efficiency. These preliminary outcomes help improve speech communication strategies in classrooms to support optimal listening conditions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number8715
JournalApplied Sciences (Switzerland)
Volume13
Issue number15
Early online dateJul 28 2023
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2023

Keywords

  • face masks
  • noise
  • children
  • cochlear implant
  • listening difficulty
  • speech intelligibility

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Materials Science
  • Instrumentation
  • General Engineering
  • Process Chemistry and Technology
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Fluid Flow and Transfer Processes

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