Abstract:

The ability to communicate with speech in noisy environments is critical in many job settings and occupations. Pure-tone thresholds from the audiogram traditionally have been used to screen individuals who seek employment in hearing-critical jobs. This paper reports on analyses of the relationship between pure-tone thresholds and English speech intelligibility in noise, as measured with the Hearing In Noise Test (HINT) [Nilsson et al., 1993], in a sample of 515 job candidates. The sample was composed of 426 males and 89 females ranging in age from 20 to 50 years, with hearing levels from 0 to 115 dB HL. Subjects were classified into five language categories ranging from native, monolingual English speakers to bilingual speakers of English as a second language. Regression analyses and distributional analyses of the relationship between pure-tone thresholds and HINT scores from four conditions (quiet, noise front, noise right, and noise left) will be reported. These analyses will be used to characterize the range of speech intelligibility in noise among individuals with normal pure-tone thresholds, the prediction of speech intelligibility in noise from pure-tone thresholds, and the relationship of experience with English to speech intelligibility in noise.