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Semin Hear 2023; 44(S 01): S29-S35
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1764135
Review Article

Building on the Academic Legacy of Pat Stelmachowicz and other Pioneers in Developmental Psychoacoustics and Pediatric Audiology: The Children's English/Spanish Speech Recognition Test (ChEgSS)

Lori J. Leibold
1   Center for Hearing Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska
,
Lauren Calandruccio
2   Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
,
Emily Buss
3   Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Abstract

Basic research investigating auditory development often has implications for clinical diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss in children, but it can be challenging to translate those findings into practice. Meeting that challenge was a guiding principle of Pat Stelmachowicz's research and mentorship. Her example inspired many of us to pursue translational research and motivated the recent development of the Children's English/Spanish Speech Recognition Test (ChEgSS). This test evaluates word recognition in noise or two-talker speech, with target and masker speech produced in either English or Spanish. The test uses recorded materials and a forced-choice response, so the tester need not be fluent in the test language. ChEgSS provides a clinical measure of masked speech recognition outcomes for children who speak English, Spanish, or both, including estimates of performance in noise and two-talker speech, with the goal of maximizing speech and hearing outcomes for children with hearing loss. This article highlights several of Pat's many contributions to pediatric hearing research and describes the motivation and development of ChEgSS.

Keywords

pediatric - audiology - development - translational - speech recognition


Publication History

Article published online:
01 March 2023

© 2023. Thieme. All rights reserved.

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