A Spondee Recognition Test for Young Hearing-Impaired Children

Abstract

Ten spondaic words recorded on Language Master cards were presented monaurally, through insert receivers, to 58 hearing-impaired children to evaluate their ability to recognize familiar speech material. The subjects ranged in age from five to nine years, and their average pure-tone thresholds (500-1000-2000 Hz) ranged in hearing level from 52 to 123 dB (ANSI, 1969). The children were tested individually, on consecutive days, until their performance stabilized—which required from four to 10 sessions. They indicated their responses by pointing to labeled picture cards. Spondee recognition scores were bimodally distributed, with clusters of scores of 0–65% and 66–100%, respectively. In general, pure-tone averages better than 93 dB HTL were associated with spondee scores from 66 to 100%, while pure-tone averages poorer than 103 dB HTL corresponded to spondee scores from 0 to 65%. However, no close relation between pure-tone thresholds and spondee recognition scores was found for average hearing levels between 93 and 103 dB. Recognition scores varied as a function of repeated testing in three general ways: stable performance, steadily improving performance, or inconsistent performance.