Comprehension and recognition memory for spectrally degraded sentences

Everyday communication requires not only the ability to recognize speech but also the ability to comprehend and remember what has been said. However, when the speech signal is degraded, as for cochlear implants (CIs), additional cognitive effort may be required. Other challenges, such as speaking rate alterations, may further strain the listener’s limited cognitive resources, with implications for comprehension and memory. The current study examined the effects of spectral degradation and speaking rate on comprehension and recognition memory in adult CI users and normal-hearing (NH) listeners under CI simulation. Participants completed a sentence verification task in which they classified sentences as true or false, and a sentence recognition memory task (SRMT) in which they classified sentences as new or old (from the SVT). Sentences were altered to have fast, average, and slow speaking rates. Results demonstrated that both CI and NH listeners achieved highly accurate sentence comprehension and recognition memory, emphasizing the robustness of speech processing to spectral degradation. However, slower speaking rates enhanced comprehension and memory, particularly for CI users. Faster speaking rates may exacerbate the cognitive demands imposed by spectral degradation, hindering speech communication. Comprehension and memory tasks may provide valuable insights into CI users’ real-world listening challenges.