Abstract
This study investigates the effects of speaking condition and auditory feedback on vowel production by postlingually deafened adults. Thirteen cochlear implant users produced repetitions of nine American English vowels prior to implantation, and at one month and one year after implantation. There were three speaking conditions (clear, normal, and fast), and two feedback conditions after implantation (implant processor turned on and off). Ten normal-hearing controls were also recorded once. Vowel contrasts in the formant space (expressed in mels) were larger in the clear than in the fast condition, both for controls and for implant users at all three time samples. Implant users also produced differences in duration between clear and fast conditions that were in the range of those obtained from the controls. In agreement with prior work, the implant users had contrast values lower than did the controls. The implant users' contrasts were larger with hearing on than off and improved from one month to one year postimplant. Because the controls and implant users responded similarly to a change in speaking condition, it is inferred that auditory feedback, although demonstrably important for maintaining normative values of vowel contrasts, is not needed to maintain the distinctiveness of those contrasts in different speaking conditions.
Keywords
hearing aids, speaking condition, auditory feedback
Subject Categories
Hearing, Speech, Postlingual deafness, Cochlear implants
Disciplines
Psychology | Speech and Hearing Science
Publisher
Acoustical Society of America
Publication Date
6-1-2007
Rights Information
This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the Acoustical Society of America.
Rights Holder
©2007 Acoustical Society of America
Permanent URL
Recommended Citation
Ménard, Lucie; Polak, Marek; Denny, Margaret; Burton, Ellen; Lane, Harlan; Matthies, Melanie L.; Marrone, Nicole; Perkell, Joseph S.; Tiede, Mark; and Vick, Jennell, "Interactions of speaking condition and auditory feedback on vowel production in postlingually deaf adults with cochlear implants" (2007). Psychology Faculty Publications. Paper 11. http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d20000858
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Notes
The following article appeared in J. Acoust. Soc. Am. Volume 121, Issue 6, pp. 3790-3801 (June 2007) and may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1121/1.2710963