title: Recognition masking-level differences for 10 CID W-1 spondaic words.
abstract: Psychometric functions for the S omicron N omicron and S pi N omicron conditions and masking level differences were obtained for a subgroup of 10 words having the largest masking-level differences of 36 CID W-1 spondaic words. The mean masking-level difference obtained from 36 young normal adults was 9.4 dB with a standard deviation of 1.2 dB. The smallest masking-level difference of 7.4 dB was suggested as the low cut-off for normalcy. A shorter version of the masking-level difference procedure was suggested for clinical implementation. The subgroup of 10 words may permit a wider separation between normal and abnormal performance, and thus may enhance the clinical utility of the masking-level difference task for speech recognition. Because the magnitude of the masking-level difference will vary with the materials and procedures used, each clinic must establish its own norms.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D006801:Humans; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values; D013063:Speech Discrimination Tests / Q000592:standards*