Auditory Acuity and the Perception of Speech

Abstract

The results of audiometric and various speech tests of persons with normal and different degrees of nerve-type hearing impairment are reported. Correlation regression coefficients (“beta” weights) were found between the hearing loss measured at a number of pure-tone frequencies and the speech test results. These beta weights indicate that taking the average of the decibel hearing loss at either 2000, 3000, and 4000 cps or at 1000, 2000, and 3000 cps provides a reasonably adequate rank-order indicator of the ability to understand speech. The relation between our results and other studies are discussed; it is suggested that some speech tests and methods of scoring that have been used in experiments of this type in the past introduce a bias that leads to an underestimation of the importance of auditory acuity at frequencies above 2000 cps.