The speech reception threshold (SRT) is a basic component of a hearing evaluation. Which statement about the SRT is most accurate?

• A. It is measured in decibels and corresponds to the intensity level at which spondaic words can be recognized approximately 50% of the time.
• B. It makes use of test materials that are limited to monosyllabic words.
• C. It provides information on how well speech is understood at conversational levels.
• D. It is useful in validating acoustic intermittence measures.

Answer: (D)

The main idea behind the Speech Reception Threshold is that it represents the quietest level at which a person can understand speech about half the time. In clinical testing, this threshold is determined using words that are easy to recognize regardless of a listener’s vocabulary, specifically two-syllable words with equal stress known as spondees (for example, “baseball,” “hotdog”). The threshold is expressed in decibels Hearing Level (dB HL), and the goal is to find the intensity where the patient correctly identifies about 50% of the words.

This measure is used to cross-check and corroborate the pure-tone thresholds (the standard hearing test). If the SRT aligns with what the pure-tone tests suggest, it supports the reliability of the audiogram. It’s not about understanding speech at conversational levels—that would involve testing at higher, everyday listening levels—and it doesn’t rely on monosyllabic-only materials or “acoustic intermittence measures,” which aren’t standard aspects of SRT testing.