Background: The Revised Speech Perception in Noise Test (R-SPIN; Bilger, 1984b) is composed of
200 target words distributed as the last words in 200 low-predictability (LP) and
200 high-predictability (HP) sentences. Four list pairs, each consisting of two 50-sentence
lists, were constructed with the target word in a LP and HP sentence. Traditionally
the R-SPIN is presented at a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR, S/N) of 8 dB with the listener
task to repeat the last word in the sentence.
Purpose: The purpose was to determine the practicality of altering the R-SPIN format from
a single SNR paradigm into a multiple SNR paradigm from which the 50% points for the
HP and LP sentences can be calculated.
Research Design: Three repeated measures experiments were conducted.
Study Sample: Forty listeners with normal hearing and 184 older listeners with pure-tone hearing
loss participated in the sequence of experiments.
Data Collection and Analysis: The R-SPIN sentences were edited digitally (1) to maintain the temporal relation
between the sentences and babble, (2) to establish the SNRs, and (3) to mix the speech
and noise signals to obtain SNRs between –1 and 23 dB. All materials were recorded
on CD and were presented through an earphone with the responses recorded and analyzed
at the token level. For reference purposes the Words-in-Noise Test (WIN) was included
in the first experiment.
Results: In Experiment 1, recognition performances by listeners with normal hearing were better
than performances by listeners with hearing loss. For both groups, performances on
the HP materials were better than performances on the LP materials. Performances on
the LP materials and on the WIN were similar. Performances at 8 dB S/N were the same
with the traditional fixed level presentation and the descending presentation level
paradigms. The results from Experiment 2 demonstrated that the four list pairs of
R-SPIN materials produced good first approximation psychometric functions over the
–4 to 23 dB S/N range, but there were irregularities. The data from Experiment 2 were
used in Experiment 3 to guide the selection of the words to be used at the various
SNRs that would provide homogeneous performances at each SNR and would produce systematic
psychometric functions. In Experiment 3, the 50% points were in good agreement for
the LP and HP conditions within both groups of listeners. The psychometric functions
for List Pairs 1 and 2, 3 and 4, and 5 and 6 had similar characteristics and maintained
reasonable separations between the HP and LP functions, whereas the HP and LP functions
for List Pair 7 and 8 bisected one another at the lower SNRs.
Conclusions: This study indicates that the R-SPIN can be configured into a multiple SNR paradigm.
A more in-depth study with the R-SPIN materials is needed to develop lists that are
systematic and reasonably equivalent for use on listeners with hearing loss. The approach
should be based on the psychometric characteristics of the 200 HP and 200 LP sentences
with the current R-SPIN lists discarded. Of importance is maintaining the synchrony
between the sentences and their accompanying babble.
Key Words
Auditory perception - hearing loss - speech perception - speech recognition in multitalker
babble
