Question
What speech-in-noise tests are integrated into GSI audiometers?
Answer
One of the primary complaints of hearing-impaired persons is difficulty hearing clearly in the presence of background noise. The measurement of SNR loss (signal-to-noise ratio loss) is important because speech understanding in noise cannot be reliably predicted from the pure tone audiogram (Killion & Niquette, 2000). This is why GSI has included several options for speech-in-noise testing that are fully integrated into our audiometers, allowing audiologists to quickly and effectively employ these tests in their standard testing protocol.
GSI has two audiometers that come with integrated speech-in-noise testing, the AudioStar Pro™, and the Pello™. The AudioStar Pro is a clinical 2 channel audiometer that is loaded with several commonly used speech-in-noise word lists that have been licensed for use with the device right out of the box. The Pello is a 1.5 channel audiometer that has several options for speech-in-noise testing included with it, along with options to purchase more licenses for additional speech-in-noise testing capability.
The AudioStar Pro comes with over 100 integrated wordlists for repeatable and reliable recorded speech testing, several of which are speech-in-noise type tests found on the DOD VA CD 1, DOD VA Speech recognition CD4, AZBio Sentence test, and the Pediatric AZBio Sentence test. In addition to these wordlist options, the QuickSIN and BKB-SIN have been fully integrated as special tests. To make deploying these tests as seamless as possible, the full calculation for SNR loss is done automatically as the audiologist scores the tests. This makes it possible to set these tests up quickly and complete them in just minutes. If used in concert with GSI Suite, reporting these results with the rest of the audiometric evaluation is as simple as hitting the transfer button.
The Pello comes standard with the same basic internal speech tests (DOD VA CD1 and 4) as the AudioStar Pro, except for the AZBio, QuickSIN, and BKB-SIN special tests. It is an option to add these tests with the Speech Plus license either at the time of purchase or in the future to expand speech-in-noise testing capabilities.
Full Listing of CD's on AudioStar Pro Standard from the factory:
- AZBio
- AZBio Pediatric
- Auditec Basic Adult (I and II) and Child
- Spanish Auditory Speech List
- DOD/VA CDs (CD 1, 2, and 4)
- QuickSIN
- BKB-SIN
- Full Listing of CD’s on Pello Standard from the factory:
- Auditec Basic Adult (I and II) and Child
- Spanish Auditory Speech List
- DOD/VA CDs (CD 1, 2, and 4)
For more information, please visit www.grason-stadler.com and the GSI Partner Page on AudiologyOnline.
