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Help the Audiology Community

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Auditec’s test recordings vary from fully developed tests with a manual that includes age-specific normative data to simple test recordings without any normative data. Some audiologists have developed their own normative data for those test recordings. If that’s you, please consider sharing that information with us so that we can pass it onto other audiologists. Audiologists have voiced a real need for data on the following Auditec recordings:

  • French Word Lists opposite Noise
  • Modified Rhyme Test
  • NU-6 opposite Noise
  • NU-6 Time Compressed
  • NUCHIPS opposite Noise
  • PBK opposite Noise
  • Spanish Word Lists opposite Noise
  • Spanish Sentences opposite Noise
  • W-22 opposite Noise
  • W-22 Time Compressed
  • WIPI Low Pass Filtered
  • WIPI Time Compressed

Auditec is only interested in normative data that has been personally gathered by you or your organization. Please include the following information (if possible):

  • number of normal subjects (No test size is too small.)
  • ages of normal subjects
  • regional background
  • other applicable information
  • your name or your organization’s name (so we can credit you)

We hope to gather this information from multiple sources to give audiologists a guideline to use for normative data. Please email this information to auditecinfo@auditec.com. By working together, audiologists can improve diagnosis, treatment, and management for their patients. Thank you for your dedication to this field.

 

New Auditory Products for 2017

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Auditec added the following products to our 2017 catalog:

  • NUCHIPS Picture Books A & B (Back in print!)             
  • Dichotic Word Listening Test & Competing Sentences, Short Interval
  • Randomizations of French word lists
  • Randomizations of Spanish word lists
  • Spanish Sentences in Noise

Click Auditec’s PRICE LIST to learn more about these products. We work with test developers to accommodate your auditory needs. Email auditecinfo@auditec.com with suggested products or variations of current products.

CUNY Sentences Mixed with Cafeteria Noise at +8dB©

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The CUNY Sentences Mixed with Cafeteria Noise at +8dB© is a recording of CUNY Sentences recorded to the same channel as Cafeteria Noise to present sentences in noise.  These sentences can be used in auditory training or for other circumstances when a large amount of sentences are required. They are not designed specifically for word recognition, and there are no data available. The recording length is approximately 45 minutes.

CUNY Sentences Mixed with Cafeteria Noise at +8dB© includes: a) the audio recording, and b) sentence list as a printable pdf file. This product does not include administration instructions or normative data. It is assumed that purchasers of Auditec’s products are well trained in their use, purpose, and interpretation.

©COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Auditec’s recordings are protected by copyright. Each product represents one license for up to two audiometers at one location. Sharing, uploading to servers, publishing to the internet, and all other forms of distribution are prohibited. Email questions regarding copyright to auditecinfo@auditec.com.

Use the “Buy Now” button below to order. FREE shipping to contiguous US locations. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: Importers are responsible for duties and taxes. Auditec advises your organization to contact your government to estimate tax prior to ordering.

CUNY Sentences Mixed with Cafeteria Noise at +8dB© (CD Format); Item 239; Price $150.00 USD + S&H Buy Now Button

CUNY Sentences Mixed with Cafeteria Noise at +8dB© (USB Format); Item USB239; Price $156.00 USD + S&H Buy Now Button

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Nonverbal Testing

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Researchers recommend hearing professionals use both verbal and nonverbal testing to evaluate patients. Nonverbal testing is especially useful when testing patients: 1) who do not use English as a first language, 2) who have language limitations due to hearing impairment, or 3) who use cochlear implants. Auditec offers a variety of nonverbal tests to suit the unique needs of hearing professionals around the world.

The Sound Effects Recognition Test (SERT) is a picture pointing test that uses sounds like a barking dog, whistling, or a vacuum. It includes instructions and normative data for ages 3-6 as well as the audio CD and the corresponding picture book.

Hearing professionals who are testing adults may find Environmental Sounds (also known as Forty Familiar Sounds) a beneficial test to add to their battery. This recording includes sounds like: bowling, roller coaster, and a babbling brook.  A similar recording called Filtered Environmental Sounds includes those sounds at specified frequencies. These recordings can be employed as the hearing professional sees fit. No normative data or instructions are included; however, a sounds list is included.

Nonverbal tests play a key role in auditory processing.  Auditec offers the Random Gap Detection Test, Gaps In Noise, Pitch Pattern Sequence, Duration Pattern Sequence, and Masking Level Difference-Tone Version to audiologists all over the world. Instructions and score forms (in English) are included with the audio CD purchase.

Minimizing the language barrier in auditory testing opens up a whole new world for hearing professionals to understand the limitations of hearing and processing of their patients.  Nonverbal tests can be valuable tools to help hearing professionals identify hearing problems and diagnose disorders. Whether testing children or adults for either auditory discrimination or auditory processing, Auditec offers nonverbal tests for professionals with even difficult-to-test patients.

Attention Deficits: Is it ADD/ADHD or APD?

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Children with attention deficits can be hard to diagnose. Is it attention deficit disorder (ADD)/ Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder (ADHD) or is it an Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)? Auditec offers tools to help professionals correctly diagnose children so that appropriate steps can be taken to manage the attention deficit.

Many professionals still rely on solely on subjective information such as observations by parents and teachers to diagnose ADD/ADHD. However, there is an objective, quantifiable test to help diagnose (or rule out) ADD/ADHD as a cause of the child’s attention deficit. It is called the Auditory Continuous Performance Test (ACPT). This test is a recorded word list given in quiet (no background noise). The child listens and responds to a target word. It is a pass or fail test with normative data on ages 6-11.

Auditec provides established and reliable tests like the Auditory Continuous Performance Test. With these tools, skilled professionals can confidently diagnose children with the correct disorder(s). Then recommendations can be customized according to the diagnosis to help the patient succeed in life. “Problem kids” become superheroes, and their skilled professionals do too!

Cochlear Implant Testing

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Auditec customers often tell us they need products to use with cochlear implant users. The Lexical Neighborhood Test/Multi-syllabic Lexical Neighborhood Test (LNT/MLNT) and Minimal Auditory Capabilities (MAC) can both be used for this purpose. These products include recordings and instructions so that customers can administer to cochlear implant patients with confidence.

Since children with cochlear implants generally perform poorly on the PBK word list, it is not a recommended recording for cochlear implant patients.  Instead, we recommend the Lexical Neighborhood Test/ Multi-syllabic Lexical Neighborhood Test (LNT/MLNT). It was specifically created to assess open-set speech performance in cochlear implant children.

If traditional speech materials are too difficult to evaluate hearing ability in an adult cochlear implant patient, we recommend the Minimal Auditory Capabilities (MAC) Battery. It includes gross sound identification, inflection detection, contrast detection, accent discrimination, and word identification with subtests such as question/statement, vowel recognition, spondee recognition, noise/voice, accent, SPIN High-context sentence,  familiar sound recognition, monosyllabic word discrimination, and more.

The LNT/MLNT and MAC Battery are tools audiologists can use for cochlear implant patients. However, there are other recording selections in Auditec’s catalog that may be suitable depending for your your needs such as noise recordings, environmental sounds, or auditory training. Auditec gladly provides professionals with the tools they need to help their unique set of patients succeed in life.

Auditory Processing Disorder Testing

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It is recommended that audiologists use established, reliable tests with both verbal and non-verbal stimuli that assess different auditory processes. Auditory Processing Disorder Tests are often broken down into four categories. The categories are 1) DICHOTIC LISTENING for binaural integration and separation, 2) TEMPORAL PROCESSING for auditory pattern temporal ordering-APTO and temporal resolution), 3) MONAURAL LOW-REDUNDANCY (monaural separation closure-MSC), and 4) BINAURAL INTERACTION. Auditec sells tests for each of these categories.

DICHOTIC LISTENING: Pediatric Speech Intelligibility (ages 3-6); Competing Sentences (ages 5 and up); Dichotic Digits (ages 7 and up); Synthetic Sentence Identification-Contralateral Competing Message (ages 11 and up)

TEMPORAL TESTS: Random Gap Detection Test (non-verbal stimuli for ages 5 and up); Gaps In Noise (non-verbal stimuli for ages 7 and up); Pitch Pattern (non-verbal stimuli for ages 8 and up); Duration Pattern Sequence (non-verbal stimuli for ages 11 and up)

MONAURAL LOW-REDUNDANCY: Pediatric Speech Intelligibility (ages 3-6); Time Compressed Sentence Test (ages 6 and up); Time Compressed Word Lists (ages 11 and up); Low Pass Filtered Tests (ages 11 and up); Synthetic Sentence Identification – Ipsilateral Competing Message (ages 11 and up)

BINAURAL INTERACTION: Spondee Binaural Fusion (appropriate for children and adults); Rapid Alternating Speech (appropriate for children and adults); Masking Level Difference (appropriate for children and adults)

cUSTOMAuditec allows audiologists to design their own custom auditory processing disorder battery with any of the above tests. You can determine which tests will be used to examine based on your patient’s needs and age range. Once you have compiled a list of your test selections, email it along with your state/country to auditecinfo@auditec.com for an exact quote with ordering instructions.

You can receive several popular tests at a discounted price by selecting the APD Battery. The APD Battery (CD170-9) includes Gaps In Noise (GIN), Random Gap Detection Test-Standard (RGDT), Pitch (Frequency) Pattern Sequence – Musiek Version, Duration Pattern Sequence – Musiek Version, and Masking Level Difference-Tones.

I hope this information is helpful to you as you determine which auditory processing tests are right for you for your patients. If you want to learn more about auditory processing disorder assessment, Auditec recommends a book by Teri James called Assessment & Management of Central Auditory Processing Disorders (available on Amazon). You may also find these links helpful:

Therapy in Action

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The power to help your patients is within reach. If your patient has a specific ear deficit on dichotic listening tasks, consider the Constraint-Induced Auditory Training Program (CIAT). It is appropriate therapy for children with dyslexia, persons with hypersensitivity to noise, adults with aphasia, or anyone who would like to improve their listening ability. The most common question we get about this training program is: what would this therapy look like inside my organization?

One of the greatest advantages to CIAT therapy is the enormous selection of materials. Twelve compact discs of recorded material is included in the standard version. Another benefit of the CIAT is the included manual on CD-Rom. It provides a wealth of information like an overview, background, case studies, exercises and worksheets. The only equipment you need is a CD player and stereo headphones. You might begin by asking your patient (or patient’s parents) to commit to two 30-minute sessions for six weeks. You can be flexible and slow down the program or accelerate the program to suit the patient’s needs.

Therapy begins with over two CDs with exercises like dichotic digits, dichotic consonant-vowels, dichotic letters, and dichotic sentences. The patient will listen and respond as the therapist scores. After the exercises are complete, the patient moves onto short stories in noise and then a much longer story in noise. The stories are a listening task with no set exercise or scoring, but the therapist may ask occasional questions about what is happening in the story to make sure the listener is engaged.  Auditec now  includes a complimentary backup of the longer story (discs 5-12) with every purchase of the CIAT – Standard and Longer Story versions. This backup allows professionals to loan this portion of the CIAT to their patients for self-administration at home.

Auditec has received positive feedback about the use of this program. Their patients are experiencing improvement thanks to their caring audiologists. Will your patients be next? Email auditec.kb@gmail.com with your state/country to receive an exact quote with ordering instructions for the Constraint-Induced Auditory Therapy (CIAT) Standard.

ciat

Speech Discrimination for Children

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For speech discrimination testing in adults, audiologists often choose either the W-22 or NU-6. If they want to shorten the testing time, they will use a list that is ordered by difficulty or a short interval recording. However, the choice between word recognition tests becomes more complicated when it comes to children because there are several to choose from. I am often asked: Which test is best? There is not one clear answer because the best test depends on the age range of your patients.

If your patients’ age range is 12 and older, you can confidently administer the adult word lists such as the W-22 Form A or NU-6 Form A. Depending on the vocabulary of the child, you may choose to administer these lists to kids a little younger than 12. The administrator must start the recording, then the patient simply repeats the word he or she hears on the recording.

The PBK-50 Form A word list was designed for lower grade school age children. The PBK is similar to the W-22 or NU-6 word list except the vocabulary is more appropriate for this younger age group. Again, the patient simply repeats the word as he or she hears on the recording.

WIPI 2

The Word Intelligibility by Picture Identification (WIPI) fits a lower age range of 5 to 8 year olds. This test makes use of a picture book (sample at left). The child listens to the recording, then points to the pictured representation of the word as he or she hears it. There are six choices on each page. Aside from being easier for younger children, it is also beneficial for the test administrator to see the selection by using picture-pointing since the child’s spoken response may be difficult to understand.

image005The Northwestern University-Children’s Perception of Speech (NU-CHIPS) test reaches an even younger age range. Ages 2-5 can be tested by administering this picture-pointing test. As you can see from the pictures at right, there are less choices for the younger child to select from as they listen to the recording.

The test an audiologist administers to a child should be appropriate for his or her age group (or language age). If the test is too easy or too hard, the test results may not show his or her true ability to discriminate speech. Therefore, it may be necessary to purchase one or more tests for your patients depending on the patient age range. You have been entrusted to evaluate the hearing of these amazing kids so it is up to you to utilize the best and most appropriate tests available.

Audiology Equipment Advice

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Occasionally, Auditec receives questions about purchasing audiology equipment. Does Auditec sell equipment? What CD player should I buy? Will your CDs work with my audiometer? What equipment do you recommend? fb VU Meter Info web page Auditec does not sell any equipment and does not endorse any brand. This affords us the opportunity to offer some unbiased advice on buying equipment.

To start, consider how your equipment can satisfy your specific needs. Ask yourself some questions to evaluate your needs. How much physical space do I have for my equipment? What is my budget? Will I need portable equipment? What is the age range of my patients?

Auditec compact discs play in all CD players and everywhere else you can play standard audio CDs (like computers). CD players sound pretty much the same no matter how expensive they are so you can save a few dollars by purchasing a relatively inexpensive CD player. Since CDs can degrade when you leave them in the player, we do not recommend buying a multi-disc changer. If you may need to test in other locations, you may consider purchasing a portable CD player. (This article was edited on March 23, 2017 to include recent research by Jennifer M. Brace and Robert W. Keith.) Recent research has concluded normal listeners tested using the mp3 audio files of speech discrimination tests produce the same valid results as when tested using the wav audio files on compact discs.

There are a variety of audiometers on the market. Regardless of what brand you choose, make sure you purchase a two-channel audiometer. Even some of the most basic Auditec recordings have different information recorded to the left and right channels. For instance, a word list may be recorded to the left channel while noise is recorded to the right. If you want to use the word list in quiet, you could use your left channel only. If you want to mix it with noise, you would use your left and right channels. Be sure your equipment is set up properly from the very start. If possible, spend some time getting to know your audiometer dealer and hold onto his or her contact information in case you have questions in the future.

Some of the best audiologists are not skilled in technology use. If that’s you, make sure the audiometer you select is easy to operate. Some audiometers come with speech already loaded on them. Unfortunately, we have heard some horror stories about the quality and clarity of these pre-loaded recordings. Make certain that your audiometer does not limit your test selection so that you can improve, expand, and update your test library in the future.

Ultimately, the evaluation of your specific needs and preferences should shape your decisions about the best audiology equipment for you. Whether you are just starting out or considering a change, Auditec wishes you the very best luck as you shop for audiology equipment that is appropriate and easy to use.