When We Can't Hear Our Own Voice, Even Temporarily, Our Ability to Speak is Impaired

MONTREAL, QUEBEC — A new study from McGill University has found that the ability to hear one’s own voice is vital for maintaining coordinated speech movements, a discovery that holds significant implications for individuals with hearing loss, particularly those using cochlear implants (CIs).

Published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, the research highlights the essential role hearing plays in real-time speech control. When individuals are unable to hear their own speech, even briefly, their capacity to coordinate jaw and tongue movements is impaired, according to the findings.

“People rely on immediate auditory feedback to coordinate and control the movements of their vocal tract in service to speech production,” explained Matthew Masapollo, lead author of the study. Masapollo conducted the research as a Research Associate in McGill’s Motor Neuroscience Laboratory.

Tracking Speech Movements

To gather their data, the research team utilized electromagnetic articulography (EMA) to track the jaw and tongue-tip movements of participants with normal hearing. Two conditions were tested: in one, participants could hear their speech, and in the other, their speech was masked with multi-talker noise. In the latter condition, where participants could not hear themselves speak, a decline in speech motor performance was observed.

This deterioration in speech motor control when auditory feedback is disrupted has broader implications for understanding speech production in individuals with hearing loss, including those with cochlear implants.

“Some aspects of speech production remain impaired, even years after implantation, undoubtedly because the auditory signals available through CIs are degraded”

–Matthew Masapollo, PhD

Implications for Cochlear Implant Users

The findings suggest that individuals with hearing loss may depend more on the tactile sensations from their mouth and tongue to regulate speech, as their auditory feedback is less reliable. If this is confirmed in future studies, it could lead to the development of new therapies designed to improve speech in both children and adults with hearing loss.

These therapies may focus on oral-motor training, helping individuals adjust to their reduced access to sound and enhancing their ability to speak clearly despite their hearing limitations.

Masapollo collaborated with Susan Nittrouer and McGill professors David J. Ostry and Lucie Ménard on the study. Their ongoing research continues to explore how auditory feedback, particularly through cochlear implants, influences speech in individuals with hearing loss.

Funding and Future Research

The study was published with support from the Hearing Health Foundation. The research team is now delving further into the connection between degraded auditory signals and speech production in cochlear implant users.

Their early findings point to new ways of approaching speech therapy for those who experience hearing loss, potentially changing how clinicians work with this population in the future.

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