title: Characteristics and international comparability of the Finnish matrix sentence test in cochlear implant recipients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The first Finnish sentence-based speech test in noise--the Finnish matrix sentence test--was recently developed. The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of the new test with respect to test-retest reliability, speech recognition curve, and international comparability in Finnish cochlear implant (CI) recipients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The speech reception thresholds (SRT) were measured by means of an adaptive test procedure and compared with the results of the traditional Finnish word test. Additional measurements for concurrent slope and SRT estimation were conducted to determine the speech recognition curve and to check the test-retest reliability.
  
  
  METHODS
  The measurements were performed on 78 Finnish CI recipients. In a subset of 25 patients, additional measurements for test-retest reliability and slope determination were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean SRT was -3.5 ± 1.7 dB SNR, with only a weak correlation with the Finnish word test. Test-retest reliability was within ± 1 dB and the mean slope of the speech recognition curve was 14.6 ± 3.6 %/dB. The rehabilitation results were similar to the results published for the German matrix test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Finnish matrix test was found to be suitable and efficient in CI recipients with similar characteristics as the German matrix test.
authors.affiliation: a * Department of Otorhinolaryngology , Kuopio University Hospital , Kuopio , Finland.
authors.forename: Aarno
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dietz
authors.affiliation: b HörTech gGmbH , Oldenburg , Germany.|c Cluster of Excellence, 'Hearing4all' , Oldenburg & Hannover , Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buschermöhle
authors.affiliation: d Department of Otorhinolaryngology , Helsinki University Central Hospital , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: Ville
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sivonen
authors.affiliation: a * Department of Otorhinolaryngology , Kuopio University Hospital , Kuopio , Finland.
authors.forename: Tytti
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Willberg
authors.affiliation: d Department of Otorhinolaryngology , Helsinki University Central Hospital , Helsinki , Finland.
authors.forename: Antti A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Aarnisalo
authors.affiliation: c Cluster of Excellence, 'Hearing4all' , Oldenburg & Hannover , Germany.|e Department of Otorhinolaryngology , Head & Neck Surgery , Medizinische Hochschule Hannover , Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lenarz
authors.affiliation: b HörTech gGmbH , Oldenburg , Germany.|c Cluster of Excellence, 'Hearing4all' , Oldenburg & Hannover , Germany.|f Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Medizinische Physik , Oldenburg , Germany.
authors.forename: Birger
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kollmeier
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D019929:Cochlear Implantation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D003054:Cochlear Implants; D032882:Comprehension; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019303:Multilingualism; D009622:Noise / Q000009:adverse effects; D010470:Perceptual Masking; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011571:Psychoacoustics; D021641:Recognition, Psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D059629:Signal-To-Noise Ratio; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013067:Speech Perception; D013069:Speech Reception Threshold Test / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Cochlear implant; noise; psychoacoustics/hearing science; speech perception