Word recognition in continuous noise, interrupted noise, and in quiet by normal-hearing listeners at two sensation levels

The effect of presentation level on word recognition performance-intensity functions in continuous and interrupted broadband noise and in quiet was explored. Normal-hearing participants were tested at 30 and 50 dB sensation levels (SLs). Performance-intensity functions in both noises were determined at signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns) of 10, 5, 0, -5, -10, -15, and -20 dB. There was no effect of SL presentation on word recognition performance in quiet (p = 0.136). A significant main effect was observed for S/N in both continuous and interrupted broadband noise conditions (p < 0.0001). Performance increased with increases in S/N regardless of the competing noise condition. A significant main effect for SL presentation was only observed in the interrupted noise condition (p = 0.0019). That is, performance was higher for the 50 SL for the interrupted noise condition only. It is suggested that the observed difference in performance in interrupted noise at different SLs offers additional evidence for level-dependent, temporal masking phenomena.