Abstract
The ability to recognize the sounds of speech enables an efficient communication. This ability must always be considered when communication disorders are evaluated. In this study, sentences of the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT), originally developed in English and adapted to Brazilian Portuguese, were used to evaluate speech recognition in silence and in the presence of noise. Although this test can be an important clinical tool, it is noticed that it has not been used in audiological clinical practice in Brazil. One possible reason is the lack of standardization of some aspects of the test, including the methods adopted to analyze the patient's answers. The aim of this study was to analyze different judgment criteria of individuals' answers during sentence recognition thresholds measurement using the HINT in Brazilian Portuguese. The study was conducted with 30 young adults (three groups of 10 people), between 18 and 25 years old, of both genders, with normal hearing. HINT sentences were adapted to Brazilian Portuguese and speech recognition thresholds were determined in the presence of noise by using three judgment criteria published in Brazilian literature. A single variation analysis was performed to compare the average threshold between the three groups. The maximum error probability to reject the null hypothesis was 5%. The mean and standard deviations of thresholds, respectively, were: 59.90 ± 1.43 dB SPL; 59.60 ± 0.53 dB SPL and 59.95 ± 0.6 dB SPL. There was no statistically significant difference between the means (F = 0.398; p> 0.05). Regardless the judging criteria used, results obtained in all groups were equivalent.
Highlights
The ability to recognize the sounds of speech enables an efficient communication
Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) sentences were adapted to Brazilian Portuguese and speech recognition thresholds were determined in the presence of noise by using three judgment criteria published in Brazilian literature
The tests that make up the basic audiological assessment do not reflect faithfully the ability to understand speech in social situations, as they are performed in listening occasions in which the background noise is not part of the purpose of such tests
Summary
The ability to recognize the sounds of speech enables an efficient communication. This ability must always be considered when communication disorders are evaluated. Sentences of the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT), originally developed in English and adapted to Brazilian Portuguese, were used to evaluate speech recognition in silence and in the presence of noise. This test can be an important clinical tool, it is noticed that it has not been used in audiological clinical practice in Brazil. Speech understanding enables human beings to efficiently communicate with each other and is fundamental for social integration This ability is one of the most important aspects in the assessment of the hearing function, as it may allow the observation of the receptive communicative function, providing information on how individuals interact in everyday listening situations(1). The information obtained from the basic audiological assessment on the performance of individuals in real life conditions are limited(3)
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