Absolute Quality Ratings of Speech Enhancement Systems by Listeners of Different Ages and Degrees of Hearing Loss

RESUMO

Speech Enhancement (SE) supports listening, particularly for older adults with age-related hearing loss. Yet, enhanced Speech Quality (SQ) is commonly evaluated by young normal-hearing listeners, and how their ratings translate to older adults remains under-explored. We compared absolute SQ ratings from 40 younger normal-hearing listeners (20-30 years) and 67 older listeners (60-95 years) with diverse audiometric profiles, after screening. Test materials comprised natural dialogues with realistic backgrounds. SQ differences between SE systems that were clear for younger listeners were smaller or inseparable in older groups, regardless of hearing status. Hearing loss severity was associated with lower absolute ratings, but did not strongly modulate the contraction in separable SQ differences. A small, audiometrically mixed subgroup of older listeners showed younger-like rating patterns, suggesting that peripheral audiology alone cannot explain the contraction.