Psychometrically equivalent bisyllabic words for speech recognition threshold testing in Vietnamese

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech Science
• Linguistics

Background:

• Accurate speech recognition threshold (SRT) measurement is crucial for diagnosing hearing loss.
• Existing SRT materials may not be optimal for all languages, necessitating language-specific word lists.
• Vietnamese bisyllabic words were previously unevaluated for SRT applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and validate homogeneous bisyllabic Vietnamese words for measuring speech recognition threshold (SRT).
• To create a standardized digital word list for Vietnamese speech audiometry.
• To ensure reliable hearing assessments for native Vietnamese speakers.

Main Methods:

• Recorded and digitally edited 89 bisyllabic Vietnamese words spoken by native talkers.
• Utilized logistic regression to select words with optimal characteristics for SRT measurement.
• Selected 48 words with 50% intelligibility at the mean pure-tone average (PTA) and steep psychometric functions.

Main Results:

• A final list of 48 bisyllabic Vietnamese words was established.
• Selected words demonstrated homogeneous threshold audibility and steep psychometric slopes (>9.0%/dB).
• The chosen words achieved 50% intelligibility at 5.2 dBHL for normally hearing participants.

Conclusions:

• Digital recordings of validated bisyllabic Vietnamese words are now available.
• This word list provides a reliable tool for measuring SRT in native Vietnamese speakers.
• Facilitates improved audiological assessments within the Vietnamese population.