Binaural and Monaural Speech Intelligibility in Reverberation

Abstract

Forty-eight subjects with normal hearing were tested to determine binaural and monaural near- and far-ear speech discrimination in various reverberant conditions. One half of the group listened to the recorded PB words in quiet, while the other half received the words with a competing message. Binaural superiority was maintained throughout the study, except in the anechoic-quiet condition. Interaural time differences make a significant contribution to speech intelligibility; and the monaural far ear supplies valuable aid to binaural listening.