Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: The development of a valid and reliable Afrikaans test of sentence
recognition thresholds in noise.
DESIGN: A collection of sentences was developed, rated for naturalness and
grammatical complexity, and digitally recorded using a female speaker. Sentences
found to have similar psychometric curve slopes, with equivalent intelligibility at three
different noise levels, were arranged into 22 phonemically matched lists of ten
sentences each. List equivalence was evaluated in normal-hearing listeners in full
and reduced bandwidth conditions. Test-retest reliability of the remaining lists was
evaluated in a second group of listeners.
STUDY SAMPLE: All listeners were native speakers of Afrikaans with normal hearing.
For evaluation of list equivalence, ten listeners were used. Twenty other listeners
were used to evaluate test-retest reliability.
RESULTS: A collection of eighteen phonemically matched lists was produced. Lists
were found to be of equivalent difficulty in full and reduced bandwidth conditions, and
to have good test-retest reliability in normal-hearing listeners. The average
recognition threshold of these lists was -2.73 dB signal-to-noise ratio (standard
deviation = 0.64 dB), and within-subject variability was 1.22 dB.
CONCLUSIONS: The developed test provides a valid and reliable means of measuring
sentence recognition thresholds in noise in Afrikaans.
