Ability to make speech sounds that are recognizable.

Communication through a system of conventional vocal symbols.

The process whereby an utterance is decoded into a representation in terms of linguistic units (sequences of phonetic segments which combine to form lexical and grammatical morphemes).

Measurement of the ability to hear speech under various conditions of intensity and noise interference using sound-field as well as earphones and bone oscillators.

The acoustic aspects of speech in terms of frequency, intensity, and time.

The graphic registration of the frequency and intensity of sounds, such as speech, infant crying, and animal vocalizations.

Measurement of parameters of the speech product such as vocal tone, loudness, pitch, voice quality, articulation, resonance, phonation, phonetic structure and prosody.

Any sound which is unwanted or interferes with HEARING other sounds.

Acquired or developmental conditions marked by an impaired ability to comprehend or generate spoken forms of language.

Disorders of speech articulation caused by imperfect coordination of pharynx, larynx, tongue, or face muscles. This may result from CRANIAL NERVE DISEASES; NEUROMUSCULAR DISEASES; CEREBELLAR DISEASES; BASAL GANGLIA DISEASES; BRAIN STEM diseases; or diseases of the corticobulbar tracts (see PYRAMIDAL TRACTS). The cortical language centers are intact in this condition. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, p489)

The interference of one perceptual stimulus with another causing a decrease or lessening in perceptual effectiveness.

Tests of accuracy in pronouncing speech sounds, e.g., Iowa Pressure Articulation Test, Deep Test of Articulation, Templin-Darley Tests of Articulation, Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation, Screening Speech Articulation Test, Arizona Articulation Proficiency Scale.

Electronic hearing devices typically used for patients with normal outer and middle ear function, but defective inner ear function. In the COCHLEA, the hair cells (HAIR CELLS, VESTIBULAR) may be absent or damaged but there are residual nerve fibers. The device electrically stimulates the COCHLEAR NERVE to create sound sensation.

The science or study of speech sounds and their production, transmission, and reception, and their analysis, classification, and transcription. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Disorders of the quality of speech characterized by the substitution, omission, distortion, and addition of phonemes.

Procedures for correcting HEARING DISORDERS.

Tests of the ability to hear and understand speech as determined by scoring the number of words in a word list repeated correctly.

A test to determine the lowest sound intensity level at which fifty percent or more of the spondaic test words (words of two syllables having equal stress) are repeated correctly.

Use of sound to elicit a response in the nervous system.

Persons with any degree of loss of hearing that has an impact on their activities of daily living or that requires special assistance or intervention.

The audibility limit of discriminating sound intensity and pitch.

Surgical insertion of an electronic hearing device (COCHLEAR IMPLANTS) with electrodes to the COCHLEAR NERVE in the inner ear to create sound sensation in patients with residual nerve fibers.

Partial hearing loss in both ears.

The science pertaining to the interrelationship of psychologic phenomena and the individual's response to the physical properties of sound.

The process by which an observer comprehends speech by watching the movements of the speaker's lips without hearing the speaker's voice.

Wearable sound-amplifying devices that are intended to compensate for impaired hearing. These generic devices include air-conduction hearing aids and bone-conduction hearing aids. (UMDNS, 1999)

Treatment for individuals with speech defects and disorders that involves counseling and use of various exercises and aids to help the development of new speech habits.

Psychophysical technique that permits the estimation of the bias of the observer as well as detectability of the signal (i.e., stimulus) in any sensory modality. (From APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed.)

A general term for the complete loss of the ability to hear from both ears.

The perceived attribute of a sound which corresponds to the physical attribute of intensity.

Failure of the SOFT PALATE to reach the posterior pharyngeal wall to close the opening between the oral and nasal cavities. Incomplete velopharyngeal closure is primarily related to surgeries (ADENOIDECTOMY; CLEFT PALATE) or an incompetent PALATOPHARYNGEAL SPHINCTER. It is characterized by hypernasal speech.

The comparison of the quantity of meaningful data to the irrelevant or incorrect data.

Hearing loss resulting from damage to the COCHLEA and the sensorineural elements which lie internally beyond the oval and round windows. These elements include the AUDITORY NERVE and its connections in the BRAINSTEM.

The act or fact of grasping the meaning, nature, or importance of; understanding. (American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed) Includes understanding by a patient or research subject of information disclosed orally or in writing.

The ability or act of sensing and transducing ACOUSTIC STIMULATION to the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM. It is also called audition.

The branch of physics that deals with sound and sound waves. In medicine it is often applied in procedures in speech and hearing studies. With regard to the environment, it refers to the characteristics of a room, auditorium, theatre, building, etc. that determines the audibility or fidelity of sounds in it. (From Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

The testing of the acuity of the sense of hearing to determine the thresholds of the lowest intensity levels at which an individual can hear a set of tones. The frequencies between 125 and 8000 Hz are used to test air conduction thresholds and the frequencies between 250 and 4000 Hz are used to test bone conduction thresholds.

Conditions that impair the transmission of auditory impulses and information from the level of the ear to the temporal cortices, including the sensorineural pathways.

A group of cognitive disorders characterized by the inability to perform previously learned skills that cannot be attributed to deficits of motor or sensory function. The two major subtypes of this condition are ideomotor (see APRAXIA, IDEOMOTOR) and ideational apraxia, which refers to loss of the ability to mentally formulate the processes involved with performing an action. For example, dressing apraxia may result from an inability to mentally formulate the act of placing clothes on the body. Apraxias are generally associated with lesions of the dominant PARIETAL LOBE and supramarginal gyrus. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp56-7)

The process whereby auditory stimuli are selected, organized, and interpreted by the organism.

The state of feeling sad or dejected as a result of lack of companionship or being separated from others.

Signals for an action; that specific portion of a perceptual field or pattern of stimuli to which a subject has learned to respond.

A general term for the complete or partial loss of the ability to hear from one or both ears.

Measurement of hearing based on the use of pure tones of various frequencies and intensities as auditory stimuli.

Ability to determine the specific location of a sound source.

The science of language, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, and historical linguistics. (Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2d ed)

Computer-assisted processing of electric, ultrasonic, or electronic signals to interpret function and activity.

Equipment that provides mentally or physically disabled persons with a means of communication. The aids include display boards, typewriters, cathode ray tubes, computers, and speech synthesizers. The output of such aids includes written words, artificial speech, language signs, Morse code, and pictures.

A verbal or nonverbal means of communicating ideas or feelings.

The analysis of a critical number of sensory stimuli or facts (the pattern) by physiological processes such as vision (PATTERN RECOGNITION, VISUAL), touch, or hearing.

That component of SPEECH which gives the primary distinction to a given speaker's VOICE when pitch and loudness are excluded. It involves both phonatory and resonatory characteristics. Some of the descriptions of voice quality are harshness, breathiness and nasality.

The sounds produced by humans by the passage of air through the LARYNX and over the VOCAL CORDS, and then modified by the resonance organs, the NASOPHARYNX, and the MOUTH.

The process of producing vocal sounds by means of VOCAL CORDS vibrating in an expiratory blast of air.

Software capable of recognizing dictation and transcribing the spoken words into written text.

A continuing periodic change in displacement with respect to a fixed reference. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

A dimension of auditory sensation varying with cycles per second of the sound stimulus.

The sum or the stock of words used by a language, a group, or an individual. (From Webster, 3d ed)

Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.

Use of word stimulus to strengthen a response during learning.

The region of the cerebral cortex that receives the auditory radiation from the MEDIAL GENICULATE BODY.

Conditions characterized by language abilities (comprehension and expression of speech and writing) that are below the expected level for a given age, generally in the absence of an intellectual impairment. These conditions may be associated with DEAFNESS; BRAIN DISEASES; MENTAL DISORDERS; or environmental factors.

The gradual expansion in complexity and meaning of symbols and sounds as perceived and interpreted by the individual through a maturational and learning process. Stages in development include babbling, cooing, word imitation with cognition, and use of short sentences.

Pathological processes that affect voice production, usually involving VOCAL CORDS and the LARYNGEAL MUCOSA. Voice disorders can be caused by organic (anatomical), or functional (emotional or psychological) factors leading to DYSPHONIA; APHONIA; and defects in VOICE QUALITY, loudness, and pitch.

A procedure consisting of a sequence of algebraic formulas and/or logical steps to calculate or determine a given task.

Disorders of verbal and nonverbal communication caused by receptive or expressive LANGUAGE DISORDERS, cognitive dysfunction (e.g., MENTAL RETARDATION), psychiatric conditions, and HEARING DISORDERS.

The shell-like structure projects like a little wing (pinna) from the side of the head. Ear auricles collect sound from the environment.

A method of speech used after laryngectomy, with sound produced by vibration of the column of air in the esophagus against the contracting cricopharyngeal sphincter. (Dorland, 27th ed)