How Speaker Configuration of Recorded Media Affects Subjective Ratings for Listeners With and Without Hearing Loss

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of loudspeaker configuration and relative dialogue-to-background sound levels on subjective ratings of speech understanding and sound quality of recorded media for listeners with and without hearing loss. METHOD: Three groups of 20 adults participated, including younger and older adults with normal hearing and older adults with mild sloping to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss. Participants rated their perceived speech understanding and sound quality in response to 10-s-long recorded media clips in audio-only and audiovisual formats. Three loudspeaker configurations were used: television speakers, stereo speakers, and five-channel surround sound. The dialogue-to-background ratio was manipulated to be either approximately +7 or +12 dB. RESULTS: Participants in all three groups rated speech understanding and sound quality as better with more favorable dialogue-to-background ratios. Older listeners with hearing loss consistently rated their speech understanding as lower than either group with normal hearing. For listeners with hearing loss, surround sound was consistently rated among the poorest, and the stereo speaker configuration was rated among the best. Furthermore, the sound quality disadvantages found for the television speakers in young listeners without hearing loss were generally not evident in older listeners with or without hearing loss. CONCLUSIONS: The results did not support the use of five-channel surround sound configuration as a method to improve perceived speech understanding in listeners with hearing loss. However, they do support individualized clinical recommendations, as the surround sound was not universally the lowest rated configuration for all participants. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL: https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.32691750.