OBJECTIVES: To gather normal-hearing (NH) reference data for an intelligibility-based Repeat-Recall Test (i-RRT) against which to compare the performance of hearing-impaired (HI) listeners.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No actionable change yet — the i-RRT is still being normed and validated; audiologists should track further publications before incorporating it into clinical test batteries.
A test that simultaneously captures speech intelligibility and working memory could provide clinicians with a richer picture of a patient's listening difficulties than existing tools.
- 01The i-RRT combines a repeat (intelligibility) task with a recall (memory) task in a single test.
- 02Normal-hearing reference norms were established and compared to aided hearing-impaired performance.
- 03Aided hearing-impaired listeners showed poorer recall performance even when intelligibility was matched.
- 04Findings suggest listening effort or cognitive load may be elevated in hearing-impaired listeners even with aids.
- 05Published in Ear and Hearing (doi: 10.1097/AUD.0000000000001904).
Aided hearing-impaired listeners perform differently from normal-hearing listeners on the recall component of the i-RRT, even when speech intelligibility is accounted for.
studypartially supportedThe i-RRT provides reference norms for normal-hearing listeners suitable for clinical comparison.
studysupported- PMID
- 42820957
- DOI
- 10.1097/AUD.0000000000001904.
- Journal
- Ear and Hearing
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Normal-hearing adults and aided hearing-impaired listeners
- Intervention
- Intelligibility-based Repeat-Recall Test (i-RRT)
- Comparator
- Normal-hearing reference group
Primary outcomes
Speech intelligibility (repeat task performance); Recall accuracy (memory task performance)