Abstract
Digital noise reduction strategies are important in technical devices such as hearing aids and mobile
phones. One well-described noise reduction scheme is the spectral subtraction algorithm. Many versions
of the spectral subtraction scheme have been presented in the literature, but the methods have
rarely been evaluated perceptually in terms of speech intelligibility. This study analyzed the effects
of the spectral subtraction strategy proposed by Berouti at al. [ICASSP 4 (1979), 208-211] on the
speech recognition threshold (SRT) obtained with sentences presented in stationary speech-shaped
noise. The SRT was measured in five normal-hearing listeners in six conditions of spectral subtraction.
The results showed an increase of the SRT after processing, i.e. a decreased speech intelligibility,
in contrast to what is predicted by the Speech Transmission Index (STI). Here, another approach
is proposed, denoted the speech-based envelope power spectrum model (sEPSM) which predicts the
intelligibility based on the signal-to-noise ratio in the envelope domain. In contrast to the STI, the
sEPSM is sensitive to the increased amount of the noise envelope power as a consequence of the
spectral subtraction operation, which leads to a decreased speech intelligibility in this model, in
quantitative agreement with the experimental data.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Forum Acusticum 2011 |
Publication date | 2011 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |
Event | Forum Acusticum 2011 - Aalborg, Denmark Duration: 26 Jun 2011 → 1 Jul 2011 http://www.fa2011.org/ |
Conference
Conference | Forum Acusticum 2011 |
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Country/Territory | Denmark |
City | Aalborg |
Period | 26/06/2011 → 01/07/2011 |
Internet address |