Test-retest Reliability of the Korean Matrix Sentence-in-noise Recognition in Sound-field Testing Condition

Purpose: This study aimed to measure the test-retest reliability of the Korean Matrix sentence-in-noise test in a sound-field testing condition. Methods: Fifty-five listeners with normal hearing participated. The sound-field speech-in-noise test was administered with a front loudspeaker by presenting noise at a fixed level (65 dB SPL) while adaptively adjusting the sentence level based on the listener’s response. The speech reception thresholds (SRTs) corresponding to 50% sentence-in-noise intelligibility were obtained using speech-shaped noise (SSN), International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA) noise, and International Speech Test Signal (ISTS) noise. For the test-retest reliability, each subject was tested twice in a 2-week interval. The test-retest reliabilities were judged by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), the minimal detectable change (MDC) values, and Bland-Altman plots. Results: The test-retest reliabilities of the Korean Matrix sentence test were good (ICC, 0.84~0.86) across SSN, ICRA, ISTS noises. The MDC was 0.92 dB SNR for SSN and 2.83 and 2.98 dB SNR for ICRA and ISTS, indicating the random measurement error varied across the types of noise. Conclusion: The Korean Matrix sentence-in-noise test can be used as a reliable tool to assess speech-in-noise intelligibility in sound-field testing condition. Further study across various sessions would strengthen the present finding.