Development of the Russian matrix sentence test

Abstract

Objective: To develop the Russian matrix sentence test for speech intelligibility measurements in noise. Design: Test development included recordings, optimization of speech material, and evaluation to investigate the equivalency of the test lists and training. For each of the 500 test items, the speech intelligibility function, speech reception threshold (SRT: signal-to-noise ratio, SNR, that provides 50% speech intelligibility), and slope was obtained. The speech material was homogenized by applying level corrections. In evaluation measurements, speech intelligibility was measured at two fixed SNRs to compare list-specific intelligibility functions. To investigate the training effect and establish reference data, speech intelligibility was measured adaptively. Study sample: Overall, 77 normal-hearing native Russian listeners. Results: The optimization procedure decreased the spread in SRTs across words from 2.8 to 0.6 dB. Evaluation measurements confirmed that the 16 test lists were equivalent, with a mean SRT of − 9.5 ± 0.2 dB and a slope of 13.8 ± 1.6%/dB. The reference SRT, − 8.8 ± 0.8 dB for the open-set and − 9.4 ± 0.8 dB for the closed-set format, increased slightly for noise levels above 75 dB SPL. Conclusions: The Russian matrix sentence test is suitable for accurate and reliable speech intelligibility measurements in noise.