Effects of Age at Onset and Years of Musical Training on Consonant Recognition in Musicians

Ebtesam  Sajjad; Ahmadreza  Nazeri; Ali  Mohammadzadeh; Nooshin  Sayadi; Saeid  Farahani; Ghassem  Mohammadkhani

doi:10.18502/avr.v34i1.17271

Ebtesam Sajjad Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ahmadreza Nazeri Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ali Mohammadzadeh Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Nooshin Sayadi Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Saeid Farahani Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ghassem Mohammadkhani Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/avr.v34i1.17271

Abstract

Background and Aim: Previous research has shown that musicians have better performance in consonant recognition in noise compared to non-musicians. This study aimed to determine the effects of age at onset and years of musical training on consonant recognition in noise in musicians.

Methods: Thirty-six Persian-speaking young musicians with normal hearing whose age at onset of musical training ranged 4–8 years and had at least 10 years of musical training, were asked to listen to Consonant-Vowel-Consonant (CVC) tokens presented in 12-talker babble noise and transcribe them. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to determine the ability of age at onset of musical training and years of musical training in predicting the recognition of stops and fricatives.

Results: The age at onset of musical training significantly predicted consonant recognition in noise (p<0.001, R2= 0.614), while years of musical activity had no significant effect (p=0.055).

Conclusion: Early start of musical training seems to improve the ability to recognize consonants in challenging listening environments.

Keywords: Speech in noise; Speech perception; Musical training; Age of acquisition; Consonant recognition