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Evaluating Telugu Speech Perception Measures for Hearing-Aid Benefit: Rationale for Developing Telugu Speech-in-Noise
S B Rathna Kumar1, Mendem Bapuji2, P Phani Krishna3
1Centre for Applied Linguistics and Translation Studies, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India.
Objective:
We examined how Telugu conventional and high-frequency word lists captured aided speech-perception benefit under conventional amplification and nonlinear frequency compression in older adults with high-frequency hearing loss.
Methods:
Thirteen elderly patients with acquired bilateral symmetrical sloping HFHL with postlingual onset served as participants. Speech perception was indexed through SIS (%) obtained with CWLs and HFWLs under quiet listening and +5 dB SNR conditions.
Results:
The patients obtained comparable SIS (%) ( P > 0.05) for CWLs in the conventional and NLFC strategies. However, they received significantly lower SIS (%) ( P < 0.05) in the conventional strategy for HFWLs than for CWLs. Likewise, they obtained comparable SIS (%) ( P > 0.05) for CWLs and HFWLs in the NLFC strategy. However, they received significantly greater SIS (%) ( P < 0.05) with the NLFC compared to the conventional strategy. Across hearing-aid strategies and word-list types, noise consistently reduced SIS (%) relative to quiet listening.
Conclusions:
The CWLs overestimated patients' speech perception abilities and their performance with the conventional strategy. Conversely, the HFWLs identified genuine speech perception challenges, in addition to recognizing some of the benefits of the NLFC strategy. However, tests explicitly designed to evaluate speech-in-noise perception abilities, along with cognitive function assessments, need to be employed to provide evidence-based hearing validation.
