NU-6 Form B Short Interval©

August 4, 2015March 22, 2024 ~ auditecinfo ~ Leave a comment

The Northwestern University Auditory Test Number Six (NU-6) Form B Short Interval© (Lists 1-4) is a phonetically balanced word recognition test that employs CNC words. The male talker has a General American dialect. The articulation function is approximately 4% /dB. There are four lists of 50 words each (200 words total). This NU-6 Form B product includes all of the same 200 NU-6 words as Form A, but they are presented in a different sequence to prevent memorization.

This short-interval version of the test gives the patient 2.5 seconds to respond instead of the standard four seconds. It is an effective way speed up administration time, but this version is not recommended for young children or the elderly. The administration time for the short interval is 7-14 minutes instead of 10-19 minutes for the standard interval.

©COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Auditec’s materials 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.

The NU-6 Form B Short Interval© includes a) audio recording and b) printed word list. This product does not include instructions or normative data. It is assumed that purchasers of Auditec’s auditory tests are well trained in the use, purpose, and interpretation of basic tests. Available from Auditec, Inc. Use the “Buy Now” button below to order. FREE shipping within the contiguous US. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: Importers are responsible for duties and taxes. Auditec advises your organization to contact your government to estimate tax prior to ordering.

NU-6, Form B Lists 1-4 Short Interval© (CD Format); Item 108SI; Price $59.50 USD + S&H

NU-6, Form B Lists 1-4 Short Interval© (USB Format); Item USB108SI; Price $65.50 USD + S&H

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NU-6, Form A, Short Interval©

August 4, 2015March 22, 2024 ~ auditecinfo ~ Leave a comment

The Northwestern University Auditory Test Number Six (NU-6) Form A Short Interval© (Lists 1-4) is a phonetically balanced word recognition test that employs CNC words. The male talker has a General American dialect. The articulation function is approximately 4% /dB. There are four lists of 50 words each (200 words total).

The NU-6 Form A Short Interval© includes a) audio recording and b) printed word list. This product does not include instructions or normative data. It is assumed that purchasers of Auditec’s auditory tests are well trained in the use, purpose, and interpretation of basic tests.

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

NU-6, Form A Lists 1-4 Short Interval© (CD Format); Item 107SI; Price $59.50 USD + S&H

NU-6, Form A Lists 1-4 Short Interval© (USB Format); Item USB107SI; Price $65.50 USD + S&H

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NU-6 Form D©

August 4, 2015March 22, 2024 ~ auditecinfo ~ Leave a comment

The Northwestern University Auditory Test Number Six (NU-6) Form D© is a phonetically balanced word recognition test that employs CNC words. The male talker has a General American dialect. The articulation function is approximately 4% /dB. There are four lists of 50 words each (200 words total). This NU-6 Form D product includes all of the same 200 NU-6 words as Form A, but they are presented in a different sequence to prevent memorization. The NU-6 administration time is 10-19 minutes.

The NU-6 Form D© (Lists 1-4) includes a) audio recording and b) printed word list. This product does not include instructions or normative data. It is assumed that purchasers of Auditec’s auditory tests are well trained in the use, purpose, and interpretation of basic tests. Available from Auditec, Inc.

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

NU-6 Form D© (CD Format); Item 110; Price $59.50 USD + S&H

NU-6 Form D© (USB Format); Item USB110; Price $65.50 USD + S&H

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NU-6 Form C©

August 4, 2015March 22, 2024 ~ auditecinfo ~ Leave a comment

The Northwestern University Auditory Test Number Six (NU-6) Form C© is a phonetically balanced word recognition test that employs CNC words. The male talker has a General American dialect. The articulation function is approximately 4% /dB. There are four lists of 50 words each (200 words total). This NU-6 Form C product includes all of the same 200 NU-6 words as Form A, but they are presented in a different sequence to prevent memorization. The NU-6 administration time is 10-19 minutes.

The NU-6 Form C© (Lists 1-4) includes a) audio recording and b) printed word list. This product does not include instructions or normative data. It is assumed that purchasers of Auditec’s auditory tests are well trained in the use, purpose, and interpretation of basic tests. Available from Auditec, Inc.

NU-6, Form C© (CD Format); Item 109; Price $59.50 USD + S&H

NU-6, Form C© (USB Format); Item USB109; Price $65.50 USD + S&H

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NU-6 Form B©

August 4, 2015March 22, 2024 ~ auditecinfo ~ Leave a comment

The Northwestern University Auditory Test Number Six (NU-6) Form B© is a phonetically balanced word recognition test that employs CNC words. The male talker has a General American dialect. The articulation function is approximately 4% /dB. There are four lists of 50 words each (200 words total). This NU-6 Form B product includes all of the same 200 NU-6 words as Form A, but they are presented in a different sequence to prevent memorization. The NU-6 administration time is 10-19 minutes.

The NU-6 Form B© (Lists 1-4) includes a) audio recording and b) printed word list. This product does not include instructions or normative data. It is assumed that purchasers of Auditec’s auditory tests are well trained in the use, purpose, and interpretation of basic tests. Available from Auditec, Inc.

NU-6 Form B© (CD Format); Item 108; Price $59.50 USD + S&H

NU-6 Form B© (USB Format); Item USB108; Price $65.50 USD + S&H

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ASHA Spondees; NU-6 Form A©

August 4, 2015February 14, 2024 ~ auditecinfo ~ Leave a comment

This product consists of a recording of ASHA Spondees with a recording of the NU-6.

ASHA Spondees is a speech threshold (speech reception threshold-SRT) recording. It is two sets of 18 spondaic words formulated by an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) committee of audiologists. The two lists are considered to be of equivalent difficulty. The SRT is 20 dB SPL. This list is considered an adult word list. The ASHA Spondees administration time is seven minutes.

The Northwestern University Auditory Test Number Six (NU-6) is a phonetically balanced word recognition test that employs CNC words. The talker has a General American dialect. The articulation function is approximately 4% /dB. There are four lists of 50 words each (200 words total). The NU-6 administration time is 10-19 minutes.

The ASHA Spondees; NU-6© includes a) audio recording and b) printed word lists. This product does not include instructions, normative data, or pictures. It is assumed that purchasers of Auditec’s auditory tests are well trained in the use, purpose, and interpretation of basic tests.

©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.

ASHA Spondees, NU-6 Form A© (CD Format); Item 145A; Price $95.00+S&H

ASHA Spondees, NU-6 Form A© (USB Format); Item USB145A; Price $101.00+S&H

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THE USE OF HALF-LIST WORD RECOGNITION TESTS

March 3, 2014September 18, 2015 ~ auditecinfo ~ 1 Comment

Written by William F. Carver, Ph.D., FAAA, FASHA, CCC(A)ret.

The problem of the amount of time required to thoroughly assess a client’s hearing capabilities is one which has plagued audiologists for many, many years. In an attempt to shorten the duration of a testing session, many audiologists utilize so-called “half lists.” This has been accomplished by either simply stopping the test after 25 words (from a 50 word list) or employing half lists that have been published.

As the reader may well know, both the W-22 and NU-6 have half list versions. Some of these lists have been ordered by difficulty, such that one can reduce the number of words to 10 in certain cases. While many deplore the use of half lists, their use has been ubiquitous. There are those who argue that 50 words are necessary to obtain reliable and valid results. That decision is up to the reader, but I recommend the Hurley version (see below).

Campbell’s half lists employ words from the W-22 lists. There are eight lists labeled M thru T. They are NOT ordered by difficulty. Beyond the initial research which produced these lists, I have not seen any further research on the lists. Consequently, I have no idea of their reliability or validity.

Auditec has two versions of NU-6 half lists, both of which purport to be ordered by difficulty. The first one, by Rose, is not recommended. (It was developed using Tillman’s NU-6 recording.) We have a more modern version by Hurley which has been rigorously researched using Auditec’s recording.* Both NU-6 versions use an interesting method for cutting test time significantly for patients with excellent word recognition ability. That is; the first 10 words in each list are the MOST difficult words in the list, so, if a patient misses any of these most difficult words, then the next 15 (total 25) words are presented. The Rose version stops there, while the recommendation for the Hurley version is that if more than three words are missed out of the 25, that the entire 50 word list be given. The Rose version will not allow that, since there are only 25 words in each of his (7) lists.

In addition, the Hurley version is available with a short interstimulus interval, which significantly reduces test time. (See our previous blog Short Interstimulus Interval.)

It must be obvious why we recommend the Hurley version for all word recognition testing. However, if one does not feel comfortable using half lists, then the entire 50 word list is there. On the other hand, if one is pressed for time, it is believed that the Hurley approach will produce reliable and valid information about a patient’s word recognition ability.

I should mention another test, the California Consonant Test (CCT). (It is not phonetically balanced, it employs 100 words per list (of two) which are heavily loaded with high pitched words.) It is a closed set test. The developers, Owens & Schubert, found that list 1 could be given as a half list. That is, they found that scores on each half were highly correlated and their results were reliable. This is not the case with list 2, however.

Hurley, R.M. & Sells, J.P. “An Abbreviated Word Recognition Protocol Based on Item Difficulty” Ear & Hearing, 24, 2003 (111-118)

Click here to go to Auditec’s website homepage.

WORD RECOGNITION TESTING, LIVE VOICE VS. RECORDED

December 10, 2013November 9, 2015 ~ auditecinfo ~ 1 Comment

Written by William F. Carver, Ph.D., FAAA, FASHA, CCC(A)ret.

You receive a referral from an audiologist. An audiogram which includes a word recognition score is sent with the patient. What can you tell from the word recognition score? Nothing! What list was used; W-22, NU-6, or PBK lists? Did the audiologist use live voice, or was it from a recording? Was it from a commercially available recording? What is the articulation function (performance/intensity function) of the recording or of the audiologist’s voice? These variables can have a profound effect on a word recognition score.

Presentations of cases (Grand Rounds) at conventions and meetings usually include an audiogram, SRT and word recognition scores…again what can you tell from the word recognition score? If the presentation does not include information relative to how it was obtained with what materials, you have no real idea of the patient’s ability to discriminate speech.

To convey the crucial information about a person’s ability to communicate verbally, one must specify, not only the word recognition score, but must list: the list (i.e. W-22 or NU-6), the sensation level at which the test was administered, whether live voice or recorded. If live voice, what is “normal?” If from a recording, who’s recording (i.e. Auditec, dubbed from Technisonics, LAFO, QMass, etc.) ?

What variables control a word recognition score? 1. The talker (the primary source of variation), 2. The presentation level, and 3. The list employed.

Word recognition (nee speech discrimination) is a slippery aspect of auditory tests. Attempts have been made to standardize word recognition testing, but results have been disappointing. Ideally, recorded tests that have been used throughout the area should be used. And, ideally, one should not rely on a single score. It has been shown that some sensory-neural patients will exhibit an articulation function that rises slowly and then curls over at higher levels. Thus if one measures word recognition at a comparatively low level, it may be missed that a patient’s word recognition gets worse at higher levels. A significant finding.

The point is, one should take the time to used recorded materials when testing for word recognition and ideally, especially in sensori-neural cases, obtain at least two measures at medium and high levels.

Adult word recognition lists like the NU-6 and W-22 and child word recognition lists like the PBK are available from Auditec, Inc.