A comparison of the NU-6 and W-22 speech discrimination tests for assessing sensorineural hearing loss

The Auditec recordings of the CID W-22 and NU-6 word lists were administered to 30 adults having sensorineural hearing losses. Speech discrimination scores for both tests were obtained at 16, 24, and 32 dB sensation level. Results suggest that both tests differentiate sensorineural-impaired subjects from normal listeners, although scores were significantly better for the W-22 word lists at all sensation levels. Implications for the clinical use of these measures are discussed.