Background/Aims: In speech audiometry, sentence tests have the advantage of assessing more words within a given period of time than single-word tests do. Consequently, greater accuracy (steeper discrimination function) is achieved. The recently developed German Oldenburg Sentence Test for Children (OlKiSa) has been evaluated thus far for school-aged children in noise, and normative data for younger children in a quiet environment have been established. In this study, the focus is on its applicability in hearing-impaired children fitted with hearing aids or cochlear implants. Methods: The use of the OlKiSa in a quiet environment in hearing-impaired children aged 4 years or older was evaluated. One hundred and nineteen hearing-impaired children aged between 4 and 10 years performed the OlKiSa in a quiet environment. Individual speech reception thresholds (SRT) were measured aided and unaided and the slopes of the discrimination functions were calculated. Results: Independent of age, the mean slope of the discrimination function for SRT was about 7%/dB in both conditions, which is a high value of steepness for a speech audiometric test in a quiet environment. Conclusion: The OlKiSa in quiet is a reliable test procedure for hearing-impaired children aged 4 years and older.

Keywords:
Speech audiometry, Children, Oldenburg Sentence Test for Children, Discrimination function
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2012
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