Time compression and release from masking in adults and children.

We studied the effect of speech time compression (TC), alone and in the presence of competing babble, in 24 adults and 24 children. Both adults and children showed significant decreases in speech recognition when speech was compressed at a rate of 60 percent, as compared with recognition of normal-rate speech. Listening to time-compressed speech in a binaural homophasic mode resulted in better speech recognition than in a monaural mode for both adults and children. When speech was antiphasic, both adults and children demonstrated a release from masking for normal-rate (0% compression) and 60 percent time-compressed speech. When both groups listened to speech that had been compressed and presented in a babble, their performance supported a multiplicative distortion theory. The results support the importance of binaural hearing for optimizing auditory performance in difficult listening situations.