Test-retest reliability of a distinctive feature difference test for hearing aid evaluation.
A short closed-set test of speech discrimination using consonants frequently confused by the hearing impaired and scored on the basis of distinctive features was developed and examined for reliability. In experiment I the Distinctive Feature Difference (DFD) Test and the CID W-22 Test were low-pass filtered and presented in a background of speech noise to 21 subjects with normal hearing. The DFD displayed superior test-retest reliability compared with the CID Auditory Test W-22 as indicated by small S.D.s, narrow range of individual test scores, and a lack of significant difference between means. In experiment II, the unfiltered DFD Test was presented in noise to 20 subjects with sensorineural hearing loss. Results similar to those of experiment I were obtained, indicating good test-retest reliability for the DFD Test with hearing-impaired subjects.
D000368:Aged; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013063:Speech Discrimination Tests / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D013223:Statistics as Topic