SPeech Recognition INTerpretation — compare two word recognition scores to determine if the difference is statistically significant.
Critical Difference (Thornton & Raffin, 1978)
Use this to compare two word recognition scores (e.g., right ear vs. left ear, or tracking changes over time) and determine whether the difference is statistically meaningful or just normal test-retest variability.
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Using the published Thornton & Raffin (1978) critical difference table values.
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Score 1Score 295% critical range
PB-Max Check (Dubno et al., 1995)
Use this to check whether a patient's word recognition score is disproportionately low given their degree of hearing loss. If the score falls below the expected minimum for their PTA, it suggests the poor speech understanding can't be explained by the audiogram alone.
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dB
Presentation Level (2 kHz SL Method)
Use this to calculate the appropriate presentation level for word recognition testing based on the 2 kHz threshold. This method helps ensure you're testing at a level that gives the patient their best performance opportunity without over-presenting.