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Abstract
Objective: Currently, there is no up-to-date speech perception test available in the Estonian language that may be used to diagnose hearing loss and quantify speech intelligibility. Therefore, based on the example of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Audiologie (NVA)-lists (CitationBosman, 1989; CitationWouters et al, 1994) an Estonian words in noise (EWIN) test has been developed. Design: Two experimental steps were carried out: (1) selection and perceptual optimization of the monosyllables, and (2) construction of 14 lists and an evaluation in normal hearing (NH) subjects both in noise and in quiet. Study sample: Thirty-six normal-hearing (NH) native speakers of Estonia (age range from 17 to 46 years). Results: The reference psychometric curve for NH subjects was determined, with the slope and speech reception threshold being well in accordance with the respective values of the NVA lists. The 14 lists in noise yielded equivalent scores with high precision. Conclusion: The EWIN test is a reliable and valid speech intelligibility test, and is the first of its kind in the Estonian language.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all those who participated in the development of the Estonian words in noise test: Tom Francart, Heleen Luts from ExpORL, Department Neuroscience, KU Leuven, and all our subjects. We would also like to thank Ave Schank Lukas for being the ‘voice’ in the test. The first author of the paper is funded by the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek FWO-Vlaanderen.
Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest.