J Audiol Otol.  2015 Sep;19(2):97-100. 10.7874/jao.2015.19.2.97.

The Dynamic Range for Korean Standard Sentence Material: A Gender Comparison in a Male and a Female Speakers

• Park KY
• Jin IK

• KMID: 2052089
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.7874/jao.2015.19.2.97

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to identify differences between the dynamic ranges (DRs) of male and female speakers using Korean standard sentence material. Consideration was especially given to effects within the predefined segmentalized frequency-bands.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We used Korean standard sentence lists for adults as stimuli. Each sentence was normalized to a root-mean-square of 65 dB sound pressure level. The sentences were then modified to ensure there were no pauses, and the modified sentences were passed through a filter bank in order to perform the frequency analysis. Finally, the DR was quantified using a histogram that showed the cumulative envelope distribution levels of the speech in each frequency band.
RESULTS
In DRs that were averaged across all frequency bands, there were no significant differences between the male and the female speakers. However, when considering effects within the predefined frequency bands, there were significant differences in several frequency bands between the DRs of male speech and those of female speech.
CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that the DR of speech for the male speaker differed from the female speaker in nine frequency bands among 21 frequency bands. These observed differences suggest that a standardized DR of male speech in the band-audibility function of the speech intelligibility index may differ from that of female speech derived in the same way. Further studies are required to derive standardized DRs for Korean speakers.

Keyword

Speech intelligibility index; Dynamic range of speech; Hearing aid fitting

MeSH Terms

Adult
Female*
Humans
Male*
Speech Intelligibility