Observational studyPloS one2021
Influence of surgical and N95 face masks on speech perception and listening effort in noise.
Observational study in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 86 citations in OpenAlex.
- Design considerations for protective mask development: A remote mask usability evaluation.Applied ergonomics · 2022Trial
- Listening effort measurement by pupillometry under dual-task paradigms: the effect of auditory spectral resolution.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2026Article
- No evidence for disruption of empathy and mentalizing by face coverage in multimodal settings.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Comparison of Prototype Transparent Mask, Opaque Mask, and No Mask on Speech Understanding in Noise.Audiology research · 2025Article
- Speech-reading on the lips as a cognitive resource to understand speech in noise.Experimental brain research · 2025Article
- Machine learning-assisted wearable sensing systems for speech recognition and interaction.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Effects of Distance, Noise, and Personal Respiratory Protective Equipment on Speech Comprehension in Simulated Critical Care Setting.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Article
- Rural nursing and allied health placements during the latter stage of the COVID-19 public health emergency: A national study.The Australian journal of rural health · 2025Article
- Visual and Acoustic Aspects of Face Masks Affect Speech Intelligibility in Listeners with Different Hearing Statuses.Audiology research · 2025Article
- Neural speech tracking in a virtual acoustic environment: audio-visual benefit for unscripted continuous speech.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Article
- Effects of talker gender and face masks on the speech recognition of 6-year-old children in a classroom.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Challenges of face identification with varied mask coverage in the post COVID-19 era.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Impact of face masks on empathy and communication in head and neck cancer patients: a case-control study.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- The impact of face masks on face-to-face neural tracking of speech: Auditory and visual obstacles.Heliyon · 2024Article
- The impact of face coverings on audio-visual contributions to communication with conversational speech.Cognitive research: principles and implications · 2024Article
- Influence of face masks on recalibration of phonetic categories.Attention, perception & psychophysics · 2023Article
- The impact of COVID-19 on communicative accessibility and well-being in adults with hearing impairment: a survey study.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Effect of mask coverage on face identification in Taiwanese men and women.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Effects of face masks and acoustical environments on speech recognition by preschool children in an auralised classroom.Applied acoustics. Acoustique applique. Angewandte Akustik · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Daily-life conversation relies on speech perception in quiet and noise. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks have become mandatory in many situations. Acoustic attenuation of sound pressure by the mask tissue reduces speech perception ability, especially in noisy situations. Masks also can impede the process of speech comprehension by concealing the movements of the mouth, interfering with lip reading. In this prospective observational, cross-sectional study including 17 participants with normal hearing, we measured the influence of acoustic attenuation caused by medical face masks (mouth and nose protection) according to EN 14683 and of N95 masks according to EN 1149 (EN 14683) on the speech recognition threshold and listening effort in various types of background noise. Averaged over all noise signals, a surgical mask significantly reduced the speech perception threshold in noise was by 1.6 dB (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.0, 2.1) and an N95 mask reduced it significantly by 2.7 dB (95% CI, 2.2, 3.2). Use of a surgical mask did not significantly increase the 50% listening effort signal-to-noise ratio (increase of 0.58 dB; 95% CI, 0.4, 1.5), but use of an N95 mask did so significantly, by 2.2 dB (95% CI, 1.2, 3.1). In acoustic measures, mask tissue reduced amplitudes by up to 8 dB at frequencies above 1 kHz, whereas no reduction was observed below 1 kHz. We conclude that face masks reduce speech perception and increase listening effort in different noise signals. Together with additional interference because of impeded lip reading, the compound effect of face masks could have a relevant impact on daily life communication even in those with normal hearing.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.