No abstract available.
Audiometry*

No abstract available.
Audiometry*

Audiometry, Speech

Objective: The goal of this work is the creation of word lists, in Ilocano, suitable for use in speech audiometry. Methods: First, estimates of the distribution of speech sounds and of the most common syllable structures in Ilocano were found from a phonetic transcription analysis of nearly 3000 words obtained from three magazine articles. Second, 372 two-syllable words were rated, for commonness, by fifteen native speakers of Ilocano who currently reside in Hawaii. Finally, various combinations of two-syllable words were made to produce 50-item lists. Results: First, an estimate of the distribution of speech sounds in Ilocano was found, with frequencies of occurrence ranging from 22.4 percent, for the speech sound /a/, to 0.007 percent, for the speech sound M. The syllable-structure analyses revealed that a very small number of distinct monosyllabic words were used very frequently. Two-syllable words were also used frequently, but were attributed to many distinct words. Second, from the rating results, approximately 70 percent of the two-syllable words in the rating survey were judged as common by 12 or more of the raters. Finally, four lists of 50 words each were constructed using only common two-syllable words with the most frequent two-syllable structures found in Ilocano. Each word list has a distribution of speech sounds that approximates that found from the phonetic analysis, and hence each list is roughly phonetically-balanced. Conclusions: These word lists may be of value to otolaryngologists and audiologists who work with native speakers of Ilocano. (Author)
AUDIOMETRY AUDIOMETRY ; SPEECH HEARING TESTS

OBJECTIVES: Various problems are encountered during audiometric testing. Deviation from reference threshold levels for supra-aural earphones is often a serious problem when hearing levels are measured. This paper reports the acoustic calibration of clinical audiometers used for special periodic health examination. METHODS: ANSI S3.6-1996 Specification for Audiometers represents our most current and best resource for information regarding audiometers. The acoustic calibration was measured in 211 clinical audiometers and compared with the ANSI S3.6-1996 reference threshold levels for supra-aural earphones. RESULTS: Among 211 clinical audiometers, 56 (26.5%) exceeded the permitted deviation from reference threshold levels at any test frequency in ANSI S3.6-1996 for left supra-aural earphones, and 54 (25.6%) for right. An exhaustive calibration was required for 16 audiometers (7.6%) in both supra-aural earphones. The absolute difference in dB deviation from reference threshold levels by performed acoustic calibration at least annually were statistically significant at any test frequency (p<.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study strongly indicate that clinical audiometry is being conducted with pure-tone audiometers having unallowable sound pressure levels deviations for supra-aural earphones. The validity of audiometric hearing thresholds are significantly affected by these deviations from the acoustic calibration levels of audiometers. Therefore audiometer calibration need to be checked functionally daily and acoustically at least annually.
Acoustics* ; Audiometry ; Calibration* ; Hearing

Audiometry, Speech ; Congresses as Topic

Audiometry, Speech ; Humans ; Language

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Recent advances in the computer technology and the explosive increase in the internet contents have made it possible for us to calculate the exact frequencies of phonemes in the everyday dialogue of the Korean language, which can provide the basic data for the standardization of Korean phonetically balanced (PB) word lists. This study was aimed to investigate the frequencies of Korean phonemes and to compare the results with the existing Korean PB words lists. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The author has developed a computer program that can convert words into written sentences as they are pronounced, and calculate the frequencies of the Korean phonemes. This study used 10 materials (total 171,824 syllables) collected from several TV dramas and news shows. RESULTS: All materials showed a similar trend in the frequency pattern. According to the results, the existing PB words lists had too many /m/,/b/,/o/,/u/'s and too few /n/,/d/,/r/,/e/,/eu/,/i/'s. The most prominent discrepancy existed in the final consonants. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that the existing PB words lists need to be modified to reflect actual frequencies of phonemes.
Audiometry, Speech ; Drama ; Internet

Adult ; Audiometry, Speech ; Humans

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose was to establish the test-retest reliability of word recognition score (WRS) using Korean standard monosyllabic word lists for adults (KS-MWL-A) recently developed based on the international standard for speech audiometry (ISO 8253-3:2012). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Subjects consisted of 159 adults aged to 18 to 25 years with normal hearing sensitivity. WRSs were obtained in 2 dB steps from the level of speech recognition thresholds to the level of 86% correct responses or greater. After one or two weeks, retest was performed. Correlation, confidence interval (CI) and prediction interval (PI) were calculated for the reliability. RESULTS: Correlation coefficients were 0.88 for 50 test words, 0.76 for 25 and 0.61 for 10 words. Results also showed that 95% CIs and PIs were narrower for 25 and 50 test words than those for 10 test words. CONCLUSIONS: Korean WRS using the KS-MWL-A has high reliability for 25 and 50 test words, but relatively low for 10 words. It suggested that 95% CIs for each test words would be criteria for significant differences in WRS for groups and 95% PIs at each score of WRS could be utilized for a considerable difference for each individual at retest.
Adult* ; Audiometry, Speech ; Hearing ; Humans