Speech recognition and the Articulation Index for normal and hearing- impaired listeners

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Abstract
The applicability of the articulation index (AI) model for characterizing the speech recognition performance of listeners with mild-to-moderate hearing loss was determined. Performance-intensity functions were obtained from 5 normal-hearing listeners and 11 hearing-impaired listeners using a closed-set nonsense syllable test for 2 frequency responses (uniform and high-frequency emphasis). For each listener, the fitting constant Q of the nonlinear transfer function relating AI and speech recognition was estimated. Results indicated that the function mapping AI onto performance was approximately the same for normal and hearing-impaired listeners with mild-to-moderate hearing loss and high speech recognition scores. For a hearing-impaired listener with poor speech recognition ability, the AI procedure was a poor predictor of performance. The AI procedure as presently used is inadequate for predicting performance of individuals with reduced speech recognition ability and should be used conservatively in applications predicting optimal or acceptable frequency response characteristics for hearing-aid amplification systems.

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