Word recognition performance for Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 word lists in quiet and in competing message.

Word recognition norms were determined for the Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 (NU-6) released on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Disc 1.1. Word recognition performance (in quiet and in competing message) was measured at 12 presentation levels for 24 young adults with normal hearing. Test-retest reliability also was evaluated. Word recognition scores for VA Disc 1.1 were generally higher than those reported for VA Disc 1.0. The differences in NU-6 scores across disc versions, however, were small and unlikely to affect clinical decisions based on word recognition tests. Score differences on test-retest for the VA Disc 1.1 version of the NU-6 with a competing message background also were small and unlikely to affect clinical outcomes. Overall, based on comparisons of scores for the disc versions of the NU-6, it appears that the two different recordings can be used interchangeably for clinical applications.