Speech audiometry in Estonia: Estonian words in noise (EWIN) test.

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 ( Bosman, 1989 ; Wouters 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.