Intra- and inter-session test, retest reliability of the Words-in-Noise (WIN) test

Retest stability and retest reliability were assessed for the Words-in-Noise Test (WIN) in two experiments involving older listeners with sensorineural hearing loss. In Experiment 1, the 70-item WIN protocol was administered during two sessions 12 months apart to examine retest stability on a sample of 315 veterans from four VA Medical Centers. The mean 50% points on the WIN were 12.5- and 12.8-dB S/N for the two sessions with a critical difference of 3.5 dB and an intra-class correlation coefficient of 0.88. [Normal recognition performance on the WIN (50% point) is < or =6-dB S/N.] In Experiment 2, intra- and inter-session retest reliability was examined for the two 35-word WIN protocols on 96 veterans, 48 of whom had mild-to-severe hearing loss (Group 1) and 48 of whom had a moderate-to-severe hearing loss (Group 2). The mean 50% points on the WIN during the two sessions (separated by 40 days) were 13.0- and 13.4-dB S/N (Group 1) and 15.3- and 15.8-dB S/N (Group 2) with no significant intra-session differences. A 3.1-dB critical difference was calculated for the groups combined with intra-class correlations of 0.89 and 0.91 for Group 1 and Group 2, respectively.