Speech banana

Speech Banana

The speech banana is a banana-shaped region where the sounds (phonemes) of human languages appear on an audiogram. (An audiogram is a graphical representation of someone's ability to hear over a range of frequencies and loudness levels. Hearing on an audiogram is displayed as frequency in Hertz on the x-axis and loudness in decibels on the y-axis.)

Audiologists are primarily concerned with hearing loss that occurs within the speech banana because:

• In children, it can slow the development of speech and comprehension, and that in turn can profoundly interfere with learning.
• In adults, it can hinder communication, which can cause social isolation and may be a risk factor for dementia. Hearing loss is most common in older adults (presbycusis).

People with normal hearing can also hear sounds outside of the speech banana, including both lower-pitched sounds (such bass musical notes and rumbling noises) and higher-pitched sounds (such as very high musical notes, the rustling of leaves, and the chirping of birds).

External links

• Ross, Mark (2004). "The Audiogram: Explanation and Significance" (PDF). Hearing Loss. pp. 29–33.
• Klangpornkun, Nittayapa; Onsuwan, Chutamanee; Tantibundhit, Charturong; Pitathawatchai, Pittayapon (2014). "Predictions from 'speech banana' and audiograms: Assessment of hearing deficits in Thai hearing loss patients". Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics. doi:10.1121/1.4879262.
• Hillis, Cory L.; Uchanski, Rosalie M.; Davidson, Lisa S. (February 2023). "Common Sounds Audiograms: Quantitative Analyses and Recommendations". Seminars in Hearing. 44 (S 01): S49–S63. doi:10.1055/s-0043-1764128. PMC 10033193. PMID 36970646.
• Nguyen, Nicole (2023). "Bionic Hearing: When Is It Time to Get a Cochlear Implant?". Acoustics Today. 19 (1): 37. doi:10.1121/AT.2023.19.1.37. S2CID 257147149.
• http://web1.newpaltz.k12.ny.us/local/high_school/Teachers/swunderlich/speech_banana.htm Archived 2011-09-02 at the Wayback Machine