Applications of the NTID speech recognition test (NSRT (R))

作者：Garrison Wayne M^*; Bochner Joseph H

来源：International Journal of Audiology, 2015, 54(11): 828-837.

DOI：10.3109/14992027.2015.1055837

• Speech recognition
• hearing thresholds
• phonetic analysis
• auditory training
• adaptive testing
• item response theory
• Rasch measurement

Objective: This study evaluated the diagnostic capabilities of an adaptive speech recognition protocol (NSRT (R)) that can be self-administered in non-clinical venues by listeners using internet-based software. Design: All participants were given an audiological evaluation, including pure-tone testing, and responded to the NSRT administered in quiet and + 5 dB SNR listening conditions. The NSRT test materials are sentence-length utterances containing phonetic contrasts, primarily minimal pairs. Study sample: Subjects were 123 adults with normal hearing to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss (mean age = 55 years, SD = 23). Results: Performance on the NSRT is strongly related to pure-tone thresholds. Linear regression analyses support the utility of the NSRT as a proxy for clinically-obtained hearing thresholds across the octave frequencies 0.5 to 8 kHz, primarily for individuals in the - 10 to 55 dB HL range. Other NSRT results are linked to analyses of phonetic errors and components of aural rehabilitation. Conclusions: Among its numerous results, the NSRT yields quantitative predictions of frequency-specific hearing thresholds, provides insight into the phonetic errors that affect speech understanding in adults who suffer from sensorineural hearing loss, primarily in the - 10 to 55 dB HL range, and has implications for the design of individualized auditory training programs.

• 出版日期2015-11-2