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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1976

Possibilities of improving the diagnosis of noise-induced hearing damage by means of directional audiometry, the dichotic speech discrimination test, and the EEG1.

Several audiometric tests were made of 85 noise workers exposed to an intensive impulse noise during pressing and punching. These tests aimed at finding out noise-induced central hearing damages (directional audiometry, dichotic speech discrimination test according to Feldmann and checking of the induction of the impedance jump). In addition, a clinical EEG was taken from each subject. Having obtained the necessary norms with series of tests in subjects with normal hearing abilities for their respective ages, the following results have been obtained: (1) directional hearing has hardly been affected by noise-induced hearing damage. It behaves like age changes in the group compared with it; (2) the dichotic speech discrimination test shows increasingly pathological values with progressive noise-induced hearing damage; this was already obvious in the age group 41-50. The impedance jump is less and less produced with progressive noise-induced hearing damage and finally disappears at a noise intensity of up to 110 dB. Because of these findings a progressive degeneration of the spiral ganglion and hearing nerve in noise-induced hearing damage is discussed as a cause of a deteriorated speech discrimination and the absence of the impedance jump. The EEG findings show changes in the alpha-rhythm in about 50% of the cases at an exposure time of 10 years onwards which may be possibly due to damage to the reticular formation, once increasing noise-induced hearing damage no longer exists.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Articulation functions and test-retest performance of normal-hearing children on three speech discrimination tests: WIPI, PBK-50, and NV Auditory Test No. 6.

This study investigates the performance of normal-hearing children on three types of speech discrimination tasks: (1) a multiple-choice, closed-message set test requiring no verbal response, the WIPI; (2) an open-message set test for adults, Northwestern University Aue talker were administrated to 60 normal-hearing children, divided qually between the ages three-and-one-half, five-and-one-half, seven-and-one-half, nine-and-one-half, and 11-and-one-half years. The number of tests and sensations levels administered varied by age. The WIPI test yielded the highest discrimination scores, the PBK-50 was intermediate, and the NU-6 was most difficult. A small number of items on the WIPI test accounted for a large percentage of the errors. For three-and-one-half years olds, the WIPI appears to be the instrument of choice. For children aged five-and-one-half years, both the WIPI and the PBK-50 appear to be appropriate clinical tools. Children aged seven-and-one-half scored similar to children aged nine-and-one-half on the WIPI and to children aged nine-and-one-half and 11 and-one-half on the PBK-50 and NU-6. Test-retest differences were small on all three tests.

Audiometry↗
PubMed1979

A comparison of the NU-6 and W-22 speech discrimination tests for assessing sensorineural hearing loss.

The Auditec recordings of the CID W-22 and NU-6 word lists were administered to 30 adults having sensorineural hearing losses. Speech discrimination scores for both tests were obtained at 16, 24, and 32 dB sensation level. Results suggest that both tests differentiate sensorineural-impaired subjects from normal listeners, although scores were significantly better for the W-22 word lists at all sensation levels. Implications for the clinical use of these measures are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Simulation of low-pass hearing loss in a Finnish speech discrimination test.

Three different degrees of clinical hearing loss of low-pass type were stimulated by a filter apparatus. The equipment to simulate a given hearing loss is described. The speech discrimination curves corresponding to the normal hearing and to the three degrees of hearing loss were measured in normal hearing adults using Finnish PB-words. The stimulation of a light hearing loss of low-pass type yielded a two-staged discrimination curve. The discrimination curves of a moderate and a severe hearing loss crossed at a very high output level. The cause of this phenomenon is discussed on the ground of the exceptional vowel/consonant relation and intensity/frequency distribution in the Finnish language.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Audio-visual discrimination of speech.

Tests utilizing audio-visual presentations of speech may have more significance than has hitherto been recognized. Such tests appear to offer more reliable, more realistic and more reproducible measures of communication impairments than either auditory speech discrimination tests, or visual speech discrimination tests.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

Combining auditory and visual stimuli in the adaptive testing of speech discrimination.

This investigation determined the feasibility of using both auditory and visual stimuli in the adaptive testing of speech discrimination. Thirty-six adults with normal hearing and vision were subjects. Using the adaptive methodology known as the Doublet technique, speech-discrimination testing using monosyllabic word lists from the Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 (NU-6) (Tillman and Carhart, 1966) was performed at the target levels of 29.3 and 70.7% for both auditory-only and auditory-visual conditions. The results indicated that a specific discrimination score could be obtained under more adverse listening conditions with the addition of visual cues. The contribution of visual cues was constant for the two target scores. The adaptive technique at the 29.3 and 70.7% targets was reliable for both the auditory-only and auditory-visual conditions. Constant level testing showed good agreement with the adaptive technique for the auditory-visual condition. In conclusion, the use of standard error calculations is useful in determining measurement errors and the effects of an aural rehabilitation program.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of spatial separation of speech and noise sources on the optimal setting of the master hearing aid.

The sound fields in which hearing aid evaluations are performed with tests of speech discrimination are far from standardized. This investigation was concerned with the nature of the sound field in terms of separation of speech and noise sources as related to the optimal setting of a master hearing aid as indicated by listener performance scores on tests of speech discrimination in noise. Two sound fields were used in this investigation, one with speech and noise from the same source and another with speech and noise sources separated by 90 degrees and 45 degrees off the axis of the midsagittal plane of the listener. The repeatability of the optimal setting of the master hearing aid from one configuration to the other and the resolution available in each sound field, were of prime interest. The data indicated that the sound field configuration has no bearing on the optimal setting of the master hearing aid. The data did indicate that maximum resolution was available in the case of speech and noise from the same source.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1992

Fluent aphasia in children: definition and natural history.

We compared the course of a preschool child we followed for 4 years with published reports of 24 children with fluent aphasia. Our patient spoke fluently within 3 weeks of the injury. She was severely anomic and made many semantic paraphasic errors. Unlike other children with fluent aphasia, her prosody of speech was impaired initially, and her spontaneous language was dominated by stock phrases. Residual deficits include chronic impairment of auditory comprehension, repetition, and word retrieval. She has more disfluencies in spontaneous speech 4 years after her head injury than acutely. School achievement in reading and mathematics remains below age level. Attention to the timing of recovery of fluent speech and to the characteristics of receptive and expressive language over time will permit more accurate description of fluent aphasia in childhood.

Achievement↗
PubMed1992

Perception and awareness of phonemes in phonologically impaired children.

Fourteen phonologically impaired children and 14 normally speaking controls were given tests of speech discrimination, in which they had to distinguish between similar phonemes, and tasks of rhyme judgement and matching words on the basis of their initial phoneme, which require the child to identify the same sounds across differing word contexts. Compared to the control group, children with phonological impairment were poor on the phoneme discrimination tasks, but there was wide variation in performance and seven of these children scored near ceiling levels. All children showed some ability to discriminate contrasts they could not produce. Substantial deficits were found in the ability of phonologically impaired children to identify phoneme constancy across differing word contexts. It is difficult to explain such findings in terms of impaired auditory discrimination. Results are discussed in relation to normal phonological development, and it is suggested that phonologically impaired children do not progress to the stage of analysing words at the level of the phoneme.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

A study of relationships between judgments of speech and appearance of patients with orofacial clefts.

A series of six studies was designed to examine the effects of subjects' appearance on listeners' judgments of nasal speech and to examine the effects of nasal speech on viewers' judgments of attractiveness. In three studies, pictures of male and female subjects with varying degrees of orofacial clefts were paired with tape-recorded speech samples with varying degrees of nasality, and judges rated speech acceptability. Results of two-way analysis of variance failed to support the idea that appearance has an effect on ratings of nasality. In three other studies, the same stimuli were used to examine the effects of nasal speech on judges' ratings of appearance. Results of a two-way analysis of variance indicated that nasality had an effect on ratings of appearance. As the severity of nasality increased, ratings of attractiveness decreased. Results imply that a decrease in nasality may enhance the way persons with cleft lips are perceived cosmetically.

Cleft Lip↗
PubMed1978

Half-list speech discrimination measures in hearing aid evaluations.

The usefulness of half-list speech discrimination tests for evaluating hearing aids was assessed. Test and retest speech discrimination scores (SDSs) were obtained from 23 adults with moderate hearing impairment using four preselected hearing aids. Reliability coefficients were generally lower for half-lists than for full-lists, and the rankings of the hearing aids on the basis of SDSs were less consistent for the half-lists than for the full-lists. Individual subject differences between half-list SDSs were 10% or greater in more than one third of the cases. It was concluded that half-lists derived from the NU-6 full-lists should not be used to differentiate among hearing aids.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

[Phonetically balanced lists for children from six to 10 years].

Two French-Canadian phonetically balanced lists, for children from six to 10 years, have been tried experimentally on a population of 100 children. The results indicate that they are equivalent to the French lists and can be used for speech discrimination testing.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Selected hearing impairment associated with pinealoma.

A 23-year-old Caucasian male entered the audiology clinic with a complaint of difficulty understanding speech, although speech sounds could be heard. Conventional clinical audiometry showed normal sensitivity bilaterally. The speech discrimination tests confirmed his inability to comprehend speech adequately. Békésy audiometer tests revealed dramatically rapid temporary threshold shifts bilaterally. Subsequent physical examinations revealed a massive pinealoma. Thirteen days after completion of Torkildsen's procedure, all the auditory tests indicated normal auditory function in each ear.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Time-compressed speech discrimination in central auditory disorder: a pediatric case study.

Audiological data are presented for an 11-year-old aphasic girl with confirmed left-hemisphere damage. Pure-tone audiometry, impedance measurement, and speech discrimination testing were completed. Discrimination testing included presentation of the Word Intelligibility by Picture Identification (WIPI) test at 0 and 60% time compression. Results indicated significantly poorer speech discrimination in the ear contralateral to the site of lesion at 60% time compression. This case study supports the use of time-compressed speech discrimination testing in the assessment of central auditory function of children and as a diagnostic tool for determination of site of lesion.

Aphasia↗
PubMed1979

The effect of masking by noise on word discrimination scores in listeners with normal hearing and with noise-induced hearing loss.

Patients with high-frequency hearing loss often complain at the Workers' Compensation Board that they find it difficult to hear speech in a noisy environment. This study was undertaken to test the validity of their complaints. The experiment had a 2x3x3 factorial design. The factors were subject group (normal hearing versus sensorineural hearing loss), stimulus level (65, 75, and 85 dB SPL), and speech-to-noise ratio (5, 12, and 19 dB). There were 6 subjects in each condition. Each subject was tested for his speech discrimination with three CID W-22 50-word lists, one in each of the three different speech-to-noise ratios. Both speech and pink noise were presented through loudspeakers in a sound field. The results support the patients' complaints. Possible explanations for the results are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Simple discrimination isn't really simple. A confirmatory analysis of the Speech Sound Pattern Discrimination Test.

This paper reports the results of a componential analysis of items comprising the Speech Sound Pattern Discrimination Test (SSPDT). The SSPDT, developed by Bochner et al. (1986), uses a closed-set sentence discrimination task to assess the auditory speech processing skill of severely and profoundly hearing-impaired individuals. A set of components reflecting differences in the phonetic and task-related characteristics of the test stimuli was developed, and the contributions of the components to discrimination task difficulty were evaluated using linear regression methodology. Discrimination task difficulty indices were transformations of percent-correct scores, resulting from fit of the SSPDT data to the Rasch measurement model. Three of the hypothesized components (one spectral, one temporal, and one task-related) entered a stepwise regression solution. These components have an intrinsic role in the construct validity of the instrument. The structure of the discrimination task, however, is more complex than might be suspected, because 'same' or matching test stimuli showed advantages in ease of discriminability compared with their 'different' or non-matching counterparts. The study findings will facilitate development of an enlarged item bank, and aid in the interpretation of test scores.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Undistorted and filtered speech audiometry in children with normal hearing.

Undistorted and filtered speech tests were carried out in 140 test subjects with normal hearing acuity ranging in age from 4 to 19 years. Routine adult word lists were used in all tests. The intelligibility of undistorted speech rose markedly in the age groups from 4 to 9 years and correspondingly in the filtered speech test up to 11 years, taking the group 16-19 years as basis of reference. According to these results a speech discrimination test can be made in childhood with the same methods as in adults, if the norms are taken into account. In the filtered speech test the binaural test result and the monaural discrimination ability of the left ear were significantly better than the monaural test results for the right ear up to the age of 12-13 years.

Acoustic Stimulation↗