Perception of consonants in speech-shaped noise among young and middle-aged adults

OBJECTIVE: The present study was carried out to compare the consonant perception of young and middle-aged adults in quiet and noisy listening conditions. MATERIALS and METHODS: Twenty-nine adults aged between 18 and 55 years old participated in the study, and were separated into two groups based on their age: Group I, comprising 15 young adults aged between 18 and 40 years old, and Group II, comprising 14 middle-aged adults aged between 41 and 55 years old. All the participants had normal hearing sensitivity in both ears. RESULTS: Consonant perception was better in favorable listening conditions for both young and middle-aged adults. Comparison of the consonant identification scores of young and middle-aged adults showed significantly poorer scores among middle-aged adults in both quiet and noisy listening conditions. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study reveal that middle-aged adults have small but significant consonant perception difficulties compared to younger adults in quiet and noisy listening conditions.