Speech Perception In Noise Test Research Articles

Comparison of Speech Recognition-in-Noise and Subjective Communication Assessment

A comparison was made between speech recognition performance in conditions of quiet and babble (Speech Perception in Noise Test) and items from a self-assessment scale concerned with communication ability in quiet and noise (Understanding Speech section of Hearing Performance Inventory). Performance on both the speech recognition and self-assessment tests differentiated between normal listeners and individuals with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss. For the hearing-impaired group, correlations between speech recognition scores and ratings on the self-assessment items were poor, suggesting that performance measured with these tests have only a weak relationship.

On Comprehension Across the Adult Lifespan

To test whether healthy elderly subjects develop language comprehension strategies to compensate for decreases in pure-tone audition, we tested 128 healthy subjects aged 30–79 on two tasks: (1) Comprehension materials from the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (Goodglass and Kaplan, 1972) presented over babble noise with and without the speaker's face visible; and (2) the Kalikow et al. (1977) Speech Perception in Noise test, which assesses the effect of semantic predictability on sentence-final word intelligibility. Whereas, as predicted, overall performance decreased with advancing age, it appeared, unexpectedly, that older and younger adults were equally affected by the absence of visual input and the absence of semantic predictability.

Effect of low-frequency hearing aid response on four measures of speech perception.

Six individuals with sensorineural hearing loss completed four speech perception tasks while listening through each of three hearing aids varying in low-frequency response. The tasks were magnitude estimation quality judgments, magnitude estimation intelligibility judgments, the Speech Perception in Noise (SPIN) test, and the California Consonant test (CCT). All tasks were completed at 90, 100, and 110 dB SPL as measured in the subject's ear canals. Results indicated that both magnitude estimation procedures effectively differentiated among the three hearing aids and produced very similar results. Preference for low-frequency amplification was related to stimulus presentation level. The SPIN test and the CCT results did not differentiate among the aids. The results suggest that the magnitude estimation procedure constitutes a valid means of evaluating hearing aids.

Speech understanding of older adults: A preliminary study

Forty‐two normal older adults, aged 60–75 years, were tested on a battery that included the Speech Perception in Noise (SPIN) test, conventional, and experimental pure tone sensitivity, the W‐22 test in quiet and noise, open‐ and closed‐set identification of synthesized syllables that differed in the place of articulation feature, syllable discrimination, the Block Design subtest of the WAIS and the Concept Formation subtest of the Woodcock‐Johnson Psychoeducational Battery. Results showed considerable variability on all measures. Only performance on the W‐22 Test in noise and sensitivity at 4 kHz were significantly related to absolute levels of performance on low‐ (LP) and high‐predictability (HP) SPIN test sentences. No test variables were significantly related to relative performance on HP and LP sentences. The differing patterns of results for different subjects of this homogeneous sample having excellent language skills suggested that: (1) a larger study in which linguistic abilities were systematically manipulated might produce a different outcome and (2) data for 400–500 similar older adults might show significant but differing patterns of processing auditory stimuli, particularly in the extent to which cognitive processes contribute to listening. [Work supported, in part, by NSF.]

Effects of context and hearing status on word recogniticm in noise

In a recent presentation to the Acoustical Society, we reported the effects of signal‐to‐babble ratio on speech recognition as a function of hearing status for several groups of normal‐hearing and hearing‐impaired listeners. In that report, we were able to demonstrate that the difficulty hearing‐impaired persons display in background noise is not a straightforward defecit. To resolve some of these difficulties, we report further analysis of these data in which the ratio of performance at one S/B to another i.e., +4dB/ +7dB, +1dB/ +4dB and +1 dB/ +7dB, is investigated. We have assumed that an ordered sequence of contextual cues can be constructed from the Modified Rhyme Test, CHABA sentences and the Speech Perception in Noise test. By taking the ratio of the performance at two signal‐to‐babble ratios, we observed that the normal‐hearing subjects and hearing‐impaired subjects perform more similarly as context increases (e.g., low‐context SPIN versus MRT). This results belies a simple “signal‐to‐noise defecit” as an explanation for the difficulties that hearing‐impaired subjects have recognizing speech in noise. [Work supported by NINCDS.]

Hearing acuity in a healthy elderly population: effects on emotional, cognitive, and social status.

Hearing acuity and the relationships between untreated hearing deficits and emotional state, cognitive functioning, and social integration were examined in 239 physically healthy, independent-living elderly men and women with a mean age of 72 years. Air-conduction, pure-tone thresholds in both ears were determined at high- and mid-frequencies, and participants were also given the Speech Perception in Noise test. Multivariate techniques were used to test for associations between hearing acuity and scores from the Kellner-Sheffield Symptom Questionnaire, the Jacobs Cognitive Screening Exam, the Halstead Category Test, the Wechsler Memory Scale, and the Interview Schedule for Social Interaction. No deleterious effects of untreated hearing deficits on emotional status or social integration were found. The findings suggest that those with a hearing loss perform less well on verbal but not on nonverbal tests of cognition.

Form equivalence of the speech perception in noise (SPIN) test.

An evaluation was conducted of the equivalence of the ten forms of the Speech Perception in Noise (SPIN) Test with normal hearing subjects. Each subject was tested monaurally on all ten forms. Twenty-five subjects were presented the materials at 80 dB SPL at a signal-to-babble ratio of - 1 dB. An additional 25 subjects heard the materials at 30 dB SPL, at a signal-to-babble ratio of + 3 dB. The data were analyzed for equivalence using a parallel tests model. A detailed rationale for the application of this model to the equivalence of the SPIN test is presented. The results indicated that a subset of seven lists fits the equivalence model for PH, PL, and difference (PH - PL) scores. Additionally, analysis of list-pair data (combination of companion forms) suggested that all five list-pairs resulted in equivalent performance.

Evaluation of the sensitivity of the speech perception in noise test to the linguistic and acoustic cues utilized in speech discrimination

The Speech Perception in Noise (SPIN) test [D. Kalikow, K. Stevens, and L. Elliott, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 61, 1337–1351 (1977)] is a sentence test which measures the contribution of linguistic cues to the discrimination score. This measure is known as the difference score. This study was conducted to determine if language skills are related to this score. Ninety subjects, ranging in age from 8 to 11 yr and from 18 to 79 yr, were divided equally into three groups: normal hearing/normal language, impaired hearing/normal language, impaired hearing/impaired language. Subjects were administered the SPIN (at 6 SNRs), language, and IQ tests. Results indicate that the difference score is not significantly related to linguistic skills, age, or IQ, but is related to hearing loss and SNR. Interpretation of results indicates, however, that the difference score is influenced by test sentence audibility.

Standardization of a test of speech perception in noise (SPIN)

All ten forms of the SPIN test [D. N. Kalikow, K. N. Stevens, and L. L. Elliott, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 61, 1337–1351 (1977)] were presented to 128 listeners who had some sensorineural hearing loss. Speech materials were presented at a level calculated to correspond, approximately, to the loudness equivalent to 60 dB SPL for a normal-hearing listener, and the babble noise was set 8 dB lower (S/B = +8 dB). Half of the subjects heard the test through earphones and half via loudspeaker; half were tested in a single session and half in two sessions. Statistical analysis of these results indicated that (a) transducer, (b) visits, and (c) order of testing had no influence on test scores. The average reliability coefficient was 0.906 for the high-probability items in a form and 0.848 for the low-probability items. The ten forms tested, however, do not constitute a set of equivalent forms; and it is difficult to identify a subset of equivalent forms, because of the large differences in difficulty among forms with respect to the low-probability sentences. [Work done under contract to NINCDS.]

Evaluation of The Speech Perception in Noise (Spin) Test

Several investigations were perfomed with normal hearing subjects to determine the effects of presentation level and signal-to-babble ratio on the speech perception in noise (SPIN) test. The SPIN test contains sentences that simulate a range of contextual situations encountered in everyday speech communication. Findings from several representative patients with sensorineural hearing loss demonstrate the possible clinical utility of the test to measure the effects of context on speech discrimination.