Pediatric normative data for a novel and fast speech perception test in noise

Valeria Gambacorta; Davide Stivalini; Mario Faralli; Ruggero Lapenna; Antonio Della Volpe; Paolo Malerba; Walter Di Nardo; Tiziana Di Cesare; Eva Orzan; Giampietro Ricci

doi:10.1016/j.ijporl.2024.111928

Pediatric normative data for a novel and fast speech perception test in noise

Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol. 2024 Mar 28:180:111928. doi: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2024.111928. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Section of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. Electronic address: gambacortavaleria@gmail.com.
² Section of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy.
³ Otology and Cochlear Implant Unit, Department of Otolaryngology, Santobono-Pausilipon Children's Hospital, Naples, Italy.
⁴ Cochlear Italy Srl, Bologna, Italy.
⁵ Institute of Otorhinolaryngology, A. Gemelli University Hospital, Rome, Italy.
⁶ Audiology and Otorhinolaryngology Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health-IRCCS, "Burlo Garofolo", 34137, Trieste, Italy.

PMID: 38593717
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2024.111928

Abstract

Objectives: Communicating in noisy settings can be difficult due to interference and environmental noise, which can impact intelligibility for those with hearing impairments and those with normal hearing threshold. Speech intelligibility is commonly assessed in audiology through speech audiometry in quiet environments. Nevertheless, this test may not effectively assess hearing challenges in noisy environments, as total silence is rare in daily activities. A recently patented method, known as the SRT50 FAST, has been developed for conducting speech audiometry in noise. This new method enables the acceleration and simplification of free field speech audiometry tests involving competition noise. This study aims to establish normative scores and standardize the SRT50 FAST method as a test for evaluating speech perception in noise in pediatric patients.

Methods: The study included 30 participants with normal hearing, consisting of 11 females and 19 males, ranging in age from 6 to 11 years. A series of speech audiometry tests were conducted to determine the speech reception threshold 50% (SRT50) in competing conditions. This included testing both the fast mode (SRT50 FAST) currently being studied and the traditional method (SRT50 CLASSIC). The SRT50, or Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) at which 50% of speech recognition occurred, was investigated for both methods.

Results: The mean SRT50 FAST test score was -2.69 (SD = 3.15). The dataset exhibited a normal distribution with values ranging from 3.60 to -8.60. Since the scores are expressed in SRT, higher scores indicate poorer performance. We have established a threshold of 3.60 as the upper limit of the normal range, therefore, patients with scores above this threshold are considered to have abnormal results.

Conclusions: This study aimed to establish normative data for the evaluation of free field speech in noise recognition using the SRT50 FAST method in the pediatric population. This method accurately investigates the necessary signal-to-noise ratio for achieving 50% recognition scores with bisyllabic words in a quick manner. The ultimate objective is to employ this test to identify the optimal configuration of hearing rehabilitation devices, particularly for pediatric patients with hearing aids and/or cochlear implants. Additionally, it can be used to assess pediatric patients with unilateral hearing loss.

Keywords: Hearing impairment; Intelligibility; Normative; Speech in noise text.