Effects of short-term implicit voice familiarization on children’s speech-in-noise recognition

The goal of this study was to evaluate the extent to which implicit voice familiarization via an interactive computer game can improve children’s ability to recognize words presented in classroom noise. Children’s (8-12yrs) closed-set word recognition was measured in a classroom noise masker before and after voice familiarization. Target words were spoken by two females, one the children would be familiarized with, and one they would not. Following the pre-test, children were given a take-home computer game, designed for this study, to be played for 10 minutes a day for 5 days. During the game, children heard one voice (”familiar talker”) instructing them to move their avatar towards various objects. Children then returned to the laboratory for the post-test. To evaluate the benefit of voice familiarity and test for generalization effects, four conditions were tested (pre- and post-gameplay): (1) familiar talker, familiar words, (2) unfamiliar talker, familiar words (3) familiar talker, unfamiliar words, and (4) unfamiliar talker, unfamiliar words. Working memory, attention, and inhibitory control were measured using the NIH toolbox cognition subtests. Preliminary results indicate word recognition improved for both conditions with the familiar talker, highlighting the importance of knowledge-based factors during children’s speech- in-noise recognition.