Improving the efficiency of speech audiometry: computer-based approach.

Speech audiometric measures were carried out on 981 patients using a computer-based system that permitted a comparison between two modes of signal presentation, manual and automatic. The manual mode, designed to simulate the pace of live-voice testing, allowed the presentation of speech signals at a rate dictated by the patient's response. The automatic mode, designed to simulate tape-player testing, fixed the interstimulus interval. A comparison of elapsed time for the completion of word recognition testing with phonetically balanced (PB) word lists showed that use of the manual mode resulted in increased efficiency. Testing time was reduced by an average of 22 percent. These results suggest that the clinical efficiency of speech audiometric testing can be enhanced by using a computer-based manual approach. The combination of digitally recorded speech stimuli with a computer-based manual approach may provide a useful compromise between the efficiency of live-voice testing and the signal consistency of magnetic-tape or compact-disc recordings.