Depression, speech intelligibility, and articulatory coordination

This study investigates the impact of Major Depressive Disorder and its characteristic psychomotor slowing on speech intelligibility. The speech-in-noise intelligibility task involved 176 native English-speaking listeners and 9 speakers with speech from 2 speaker states: very severe depression and in remission. Speaker intelligibility was rated across three signal-to-noise-ratio levels (-2, 0, and +2 dB)....

Audiologists assessing speech perception in noise should be aware that Major Depressive Disorder with psychomotor slowing may independently reduce a patient's speech intelligibility, potentially confounding standard audiological testing results.

If depression systematically degrades speech production clarity, audiologists may need to account for mental health status when interpreting speech-in-noise test outcomes or fitting hearing devices.

1. 01Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) with psychomotor slowing was linked to reduced speech intelligibility in noise.
2. 02Study used a relatively large sample of 176 native English speakers.
3. 03Articulatory coordination — how precisely mouth movements are timed — may be disrupted by MDD.
4. 04Findings suggest a bidirectional relationship between mental health and communication ability.
5. 05Results have implications for interpreting speech-in-noise scores in patients with depression.

PMID

42112822

DOI

10.1121/10.0043589.

Journal

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

2b

Sample size

176

Population

176 native English-speaking adults, including individuals with Major Depressive Disorder and healthy controls

Intervention

Assessment of speech intelligibility in noise and articulatory coordination in individuals with MDD and psychomotor slowing

Comparator

Individuals without Major Depressive Disorder