In the past, speech thresholds were used as a means to cross-check the validity of pure tone thresholds. They include the purposes of the test or the reasons for performing the test, the materials that should be used in testing, and the method or procedure for testing.Purposes of Speech Threshold TestingA number of purposes have been given for speech threshold testing. I will not be talking about those standards, but it's of course important to keep those in mind.Speech Threshold TestingSpeech Threshold testing involves several considerations. The topics that I will address today are an overview of speech threshold testing, suprathreshold speech recognition testing, the most comfortable listening level testing, uncomfortable listening level, and a brief mention of some new directions that speech testing is taking.In the context of testing speech, I will assume that the environment in which you are testing meets the ANSI permissible noise criteria and that the audiometer transducers that are being used to perform speech testing are all calibrated to the ANSI standards for speech. I am presenting a review of the array of speech tests that we use in clinical evaluation with a summary of some of the old and new research that has come about to support the recommended practices. It is due to this ongoing interest as seen in the questions that students ask during classes, by questions new audiologists raise as they begin their practice, and by the comments and questions we see on various audiology listservs about the most efficient and effective ways to test speech in the clinical setting, that AudiologyOnline proposed this webinar as part of their Back to Basics series.
The methods and materials for testing speech intelligibility were of interest then, and are still of interest today. Speech audiometry developed originally out of the work conducted at Bell Labs in the 1920s and 1930s where they were looking into the efficiency of communication systems, and really gained momentum post World War II as returning veterans presented with hearing loss. The recognition of speech is therefore of great interest to all of us in the fields of speech and hearing. Please download supplemental course materials.Speech is the auditory stimulus through which we communicate. Editor's Note: This is a transcript of an AudiologyOnline live seminar.
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