Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDIOLOGY
Volume 62, Issue 4, Pages 328-333Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/14992027.2022.2045366
Keywords
COVID-19; Face mask; Word recognition; Speech intelligibility; Hearing loss
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Wearing a face mask can affect word recognition in hearing-impaired individuals, with a greater impact observed in noisy conditions.
Objective This study aimed to investigate the effect of wearing a face mask on word recognition in hearing-impaired listeners. Design Word recognition scores were obtained in quiet and in different signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs 0, +5, and +10 dB) using two listening conditions (with N95 mask and with no-mask). Study sample Participants were forty-six listeners with normal hearing sensitivity and thirty-nine listeners with mild to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss. Results Results showed that wearing a face mask affected word recognition and that this effect was greater for listeners with hearing impairment than that observed for listeners with normal hearing sensitivity. The extent of this effect was also dependent on the SNR conditions such that the effect of wearing a face mask was worse in adverse listening conditions. Conclusions Overall, this study demonstrated that face mask can disrupt speech intelligibility possibly by degrading some acoustical features which may pose substantial difficulties for those with hearing impairment.
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