LiCoS: A New Linguistically Controlled Sentences Test to Assess Functional Hearing Performance

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Linguistics
• Speech Processing

Background:

• Clinical speech audiometry faces challenges balancing clinical and ecological validity.
• Existing tests may not accurately reflect real-world listening due to simplified language.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel sentence materials for Dutch speech audiometry with high linguistic validity.
• To create a test that bridges the gap between clinical precision and ecological realism.

Main Methods:

• Generated sentences based on modern spoken Dutch and Flemish linguistic features.
• Ensured list homogeneity through controlled syntactic types and linguistic complexity.
• Evaluated list equivalency at audiological and linguistic levels using normal-hearing listeners.

Main Results:

• Achieved an average sentence understanding accuracy of 63.40% at -5 dB SNR.
• Demonstrated no significant differences in performance across test lists.
• Confirmed equal distribution of phonological, morphological, and syntactic features across lists.

Conclusions:

• LiCoS offers clinical control with high ecological validity for speech audiometric assessment.
• It is suitable for individuals who perform near ceiling on simplified tests.
• LiCoS provides valuable complementary data for functional hearing assessment.