Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Research with younger adults showed that cloned voices are more intelligible than human voices in noise, with a benefit of 13.4%. This study tested whether this benefit extends to 40 middle-aged listeners (45-65 years), as this population may show emerging difficulties with speech-in-noise. Participants recognised sentences by ten human voices and ten voice clones in four noise levels. Cloned voices were 11.8% more intelligible, with benefits enhanced at the two most severe noise levels (15.9% at -6 dB and 17.5% at -3 dB), suggesting cloned speech enhanced perception in middle-aged listeners, potentially by reducing listening effort and compensating for emerging age-related auditory-cognitive decline.
Source: JASA Express Letters
DOI: 10.1121/10.0046178
Authors: Patti Adank, Han Wang
Institutions: University College London, University of Roehampton
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7204927264