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. 2020 Nov;148(5):2878.
doi: 10.1121/10.0002450.

Effect of masks on speech intelligibility in auralized classrooms

Pasquale Bottalico  1 , Silvia Murgia  1 , Giuseppina Emma Puglisi  2 , Arianna Astolfi  2 , Karen Iler Kirk  1
Affiliations

Effect of masks on speech intelligibility in auralized classrooms

Pasquale Bottalico et al. J Acoust Soc Am. 2020 Nov.

Abstract

This study explored the effects of wearing face masks on classroom communication. The effects of three different types of face masks (fabric, surgical, and N95 masks) on speech intelligibility (SI) presented to college students in auralized classrooms were evaluated. To simulate realistic classroom conditions, speech stimuli were presented in the presence of speech-shaped noise with a signal-to-noise ratio of +3 dB under two different reverberation times (0.4 s and 3.1 s). The use of fabric masks yielded a significantly greater reduction in SI compared to the other masks. Therefore, surgical masks or N95 masks are recommended in teaching environments.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Head and torso simulator (HATS) wearing the three masks used in the study.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Sound attenuation introduced by the different types of masks per octave band. (M1 = fabric mask, M2 = surgical mask, M3 = N95 mask).
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
Mean SI across listeners in the conditions with and without masks in the two rooms. Error bands indicate ± standard error.
FIG. 4.
FIG. 4.
Mean LE rated from extremely difficult to extremely easy across listeners in the conditions with and without masks in the two rooms. Error bands indicate ± standard error.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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