Development of the Slovenian DIN test using the fully automatic Aladdin procedure.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech-language pathology
• Hearing science

Background:

• The Digit Intelligibility Noise (DIN) test is crucial for assessing speech recognition in noise.
• Developing culturally and linguistically appropriate versions of diagnostic tools is essential for accurate hearing assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a Slovenian version of the DIN test using synthetic speech and automatic speech recognition.
• To assess the test's precision and suitability for clinical application and hearing screening.

Main Methods:

• The Aladdin procedure was employed for test development.
• A repeated measures design measured speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) using antiphasic and diotic DIN tests.
• Participants included 28 listeners with normal hearing and 62 with hearing loss.

Main Results:

• A learning effect was observed for the initial test, with no significant improvement in SRTs on subsequent trials.
• The standard error of measurement (SEM) was low (0.9 dB antiphasic, 0.7 dB diotic) for normal-hearing listeners.
• The test demonstrated excellent hearing screening characteristics.

Conclusions:

• The Slovenian DIN test exhibits high precision, indicated by a small SEM.
• The test is recommended for clinical implementation and can be utilized for hearing screening with established cut-off values.