The Finnish simplified matrix sentence test for the assessment of speech intelligibility in the elderly

: Willberg T, Karteva K, Zokoll M, Buschermohle M, Sivonen V, Aarnisalo A, Lopponen H, Kollmeier B, Dietz A

Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

: 2020

International Journal of Audiology

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDIOLOGY

: INT J AUDIOL

: 52

: 10

: 763

: 771

: 9

: 1499-2027

: 1708-8186

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14992027.2020.1741704

Objective: A simplified version of the Finnish matrix sentence test (FMST) was developed to improve the reliability of hearing diagnostic for children and for patients with limited working memory capacity and/or vocabulary. Design: Study 1 evaluated the word matrix of the Finnish simplified matrix sentence test (FINSIMAT) to rule out systematic differences between the new FINSIMAT test lists, and to provide reference values for normal-hearing (NH) young adults (YA). In Study 2, the FINSIMAT and the FMST were evaluated in elderly listeners with mild-to-moderate hearing impairment (HI). Study sample: Twenty NH YAs participated in Study 1, and 16 elderly HI adults participated in Study 2. Results: For NH YAs, the reference speech reception threshold (SRT50) estimate and the slope for the FINSIMAT were -11.2 +/- 1.0 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and 19.4 +/- 1.9%/dB SNR. For the elderly HI listeners, the mean SRT50 estimates for the FINSIMAT and FMST were -4.1 and -3.6 dB SNR, respectively. The correlation between the FMST and FINSIMAT results was strong (r(2) = 0.78, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The FINSIMAT showed comparable characteristics to the FMST and proved feasible for measurements in elderly HI listeners.