A new generation of hearing test instrument is proposed. It will use automated speech recognition (ASR) to evaluate responses of subjects in the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT). Adaptive speech intelligibility tests that measure the sentence recognition threshold (SRT) in quiet or noise have become widely used for functional hearing assessment in both clinical and occupational health settings. The HINT (Nilsson et al., 1994) is the most widely accepted. It has been developed in over a dozen languages for use in evaluations of auditory prostheses, i.e., cochlear implants, middle ear implants, bone-anchored hearing aids, and air conduction hearing aids. The HINT is also used in the US and Canada in occupational health to screen individuals for hearing-critical jobs in law enforcement and public safety. The proposed Phase-I research will demonstrate the feasibility of using automated speech recognition (ASR) to score HINT and to control the adaptive test protocol. If ASR technology proves to be sufficiently accurate for this specialized application, it can be substituted for the human observer, maintaining or perhaps improving the consistency of SRT measures and the accuracy of the functional hearing assessment. Phase II research can then develop the prototype of this innovative hearing test instrument that will be marketed by Compreval, Inc., and will greatly expand the use of functional hearing tests in occupational settings.
Patients in hearing clinics, as well as job applicants and incumbents can expect consistent and accurate assessments of their functional hearing abilities with the proposed technology. For the clinic patient, this directly relates to the benefit and value of the treatment they receive. For the job applicant or incumbent tested in occupational health settings, accurate and consistent information can positively influence their qualifications for a job. Moreover, it will enable better informed decisions as to how individuals with hearing impairments can be appropriately accommodated in the workplace. ? ? ?
