Digital hearing aids require precise fitting to enable realistic speech processing. The international speech test signal (ISTS) provides a standard reference, yet does not fully capture the phonetic and prosodic features of Persian. This study aimed to create and acoustically verify a Persian version of the ISTS-termed the Persian speech test signal (PerSTS)-to enhance verification accuracy for Persian-speaking...
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Audiologists fitting hearing aids for Persian-speaking patients should consider using PerSTS instead of the language-nonspecific ISTS, once clinically adopted, to improve fitting accuracy for this population.
Language-specific speech test signals improve hearing-aid fitting precision for non-English-speaking populations, addressing a meaningful gap in audiological tools for Persian speakers.
- 01PerSTS is a new Persian-language speech test signal modelled on the international ISTS standard.
- 02The signal was both developed and validated, suggesting a structured psychometric process.
- 03It is intended for use in digital hearing-aid fitting, not diagnostic audiometry.
- 04Persian is spoken by tens of millions of people, making a language-specific standard clinically significant.
- 05The study is published in a peer-reviewed journal (IJMS, DOI 10.30476/ijms.2026.109949.4539).
PerSTS serves as a language-specific reference standard for fitting digital hearing aids in Persian speakers, parallel to the international ISTS.
studypartially supportedPerSTS was validated as a reliable speech test signal for Persian-language hearing-aid fitting.
studysupported- PMID
- 42571085
- DOI
- 10.30476/ijms.2026.109949.4539.
- Journal
- Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 2b
- Population
- Persian-speaking individuals; hearing-aid fitting context
- Intervention
- Persian Speech Test Signal (PerSTS) for digital hearing-aid fitting
- Comparator
- International Speech Test Signal (ISTS)
Primary outcomes
Validation of PerSTS as a language-specific fitting reference standard; Agreement/correspondence with ISTS spectral and temporal characteristics