A standardised test to evaluate audio-visual speech intelligibility in French

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech Science
• Communication Disorders

Background:

• Lipreading is crucial for hearing-impaired individuals' communication.
• A standardized French lipreading assessment tool was previously unavailable.
• The French Matrix Sentence Test (FrMST) is an established auditory test.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create and validate an audio-visual (AV) version of the French Matrix Sentence Test (FrMST).
• To provide a standardized lipreading assessment tool for French speakers.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of AV lipreading in various conditions.

Main Methods:

• Developed an AV version of the FrMST by dubbing existing audio files into video.
• Tested 35 young, normal-hearing participants in auditory alone (Ao), visual alone (Vo), and AV conditions.
• Assessed performance in quiet and noise, using open and closed-set response formats.

Main Results:

• Lipreading ability (Vo) varied widely (1%-77% word comprehension).
• Significant AV benefits were observed: 9.25 dB SPL in quiet and 4.6 dB SNR in noise.
• Lipreading ability and AV benefit showed a significant correlation.

Conclusions:

• The French AV MST achieved AV benefits comparable to international studies.
• Clinical recommendations include targeting specific speech reception thresholds (SRT80) to avoid ceiling effects.
• A suggested testing protocol involves AV training and randomized auditory and visual testing in noise.