Cost effectiveness of various spondee-threshold methods

Spondees (N:15) chosen from the literature as having relatively homogeneous intelligibility were re-recorded to preserve this feature. ST's were collected twice from 60 normal-hearing young adults by each of 6 combinations of method (ascending, descending, bracketing) and step size (2-, 5-db). A cost-benefit analysis (test-retest reliability, time required, agreement with PTA) yielded the descending-2-db combination as superior to other combinations.