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Applications of the NTID speech recognition test (NSRT(®))
Wayne M Garrison1, Joseph H Bochner1
1a National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology , Rochester , USA.
Objective:
This study evaluated the diagnostic capabilities of an adaptive speech recognition protocol (NSRT(®)) that can be self-administered in non-clinical venues by listeners using internet-based software.
Design:
All participants were given an audiological evaluation, including pure-tone testing, and responded to the NSRT administered in quiet and + 5 dB SNR listening conditions. The NSRT test materials are sentence-length utterances containing phonetic contrasts, primarily minimal pairs.
Study Sample:
Subjects were 123 adults with normal hearing to moderately severe sensorineural hearing loss (mean age = 55 years, SD = 23).
Results:
Performance on the NSRT is strongly related to pure-tone thresholds. Linear regression analyses support the utility of the NSRT as a proxy for clinically-obtained hearing thresholds across the octave frequencies 0.5 to 8 kHz, primarily for individuals in the - 10 to 55 dB HL range. Other NSRT results are linked to analyses of phonetic errors and components of aural rehabilitation.
Conclusions:
Among its numerous results, the NSRT yields quantitative predictions of frequency-specific hearing thresholds, provides insight into the phonetic errors that affect speech understanding in adults who suffer from sensorineural hearing loss, primarily in the - 10 to 55 dB HL range, and has implications for the design of individualized auditory training programs.
