SSW test performance-intensity functions for hearing-impaired adults.
The present study investigated the effects of intensity on hearing-impaired adults' performance on the Staggered Spondaic Word (SSW) test. Fifteen adults having mild-to-moderate cochlear hearing losses were administered the 40-item SSW test which was subdivided into four groups of ten items each, and presented at different intensity levels (20, 30, 40, and 50 dB SL re the three-frequency, pure-tone average). Subjects' responses were used to generate performance-intensity functions. Scores were analyzed for overall, competing, and noncompeting conditions. No significant differences were found for these hearing-impaired listeners' performance for items presented at the standard 50 dB and those at the low sensation levels.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008144:Loudness Perception; D008875:Middle Aged; D012022:Reflex, Acoustic; D013063:Speech Discrimination Tests / Q000379:methods*; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013069:Speech Reception Threshold Test