Test Materials
Arthur Boothroyd Word Lists - AB(S)
The Arthur Boothroyd word lists in the Southampton recording comprise the 12 most equally difficult lists. They are widely used for speech audiometry and rehabilitation in the UK. The lists, each of 10 words, are normally scored as phonemes correct out of 30. A mixed-mode Compact Disc combines CD-ROM data, which allows items to be played from a PC sound card under control of a program, and CD-DA digital audio, which allows ordinary sound playback from a CD player.
The software requires Windows 95, 98 or XP (up to SP2). It is not compatible with Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista or Windows 7.
The CD-ROM includes the test materials, installation instructions, control and data-viewing programs, calibration signals, masking noises and an extensive help file.
Acknowledgements: Kevin Munro, Valerie Cleaver and ISVR.
Click on the grey 'play' buttons below to hear the sounds (Flash player required). If the buttons do not appear, click on the links to download the file for playing offline.
Examples:
AB(S) 1 (Male):
AB(S) 2 (Male):
Scoresheets for the full AB Word Lists may be downloaded free of charge in PDF or Word 2007 (docx) format.
Price:
£180 (£150 + VAT) (see payment details)
Contact: Product Sales, MRC Institute of Hearing Research
Alternative products:
- Soundbyte Solutions produce a self-contained tester called Parrot which incorporates an eight-list subset of the AB Word Lists.
- Guymark UK Ltd supply the Arthur Boothroyd Word List on audio CD.
ABC Sentence Lists and Test
The ABC Sentence Lists comprise 25 lists of 30 sentences, with 5 keywords specified in each sentence. They are "IEEE Sentences" (75 lists of 10 sentences) recorded with some changes to language etc.
This version uses audio-alone male-speaker and female-speaker digital recordings (Advanced Bionics 2001). Note that about 13 sentences (of the 1500 total) have audible anomalies but all sentences are useable.
The ABC Sentence Test was developed by IHR in collaboration with Advanced Bionics and includes an additional program (ADAPTLIST) for adaptive testing of speech in noise. The default settings randomly present speech from the male and female speaker at three different levels and also add adaptively-varying levels of noise to produce a threshold signal-to-noise ratio for each speaker.
The software requires Windows 95, 98 or XP (up to SP2). It is not compatible with Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista or Windows 7.
A CD-ROM includes the test materials, installation instructions, control and data viewing programs, calibration signals, masking noises and an extensive help file. These materials were prepared only as a CD-ROM for use with a PC (but not as CD audio).
Acknowledgements: Paddy Boyle, Debi Vickers and Advanced Bionics UK Ltd.
Click on the grey 'play' buttons below to hear the sounds (Flash player required). If the buttons do not appear, click on the links to download the file for playing offline.
Examples:
ABC 1 (Male):
ABC 2 (Male):
ABC 1 (Female):
ABC 2 (Female):
Price:
£720 (£600 + VAT) (see payment details)
BKB and IHRSL Sentence Lists and NWAS Continuous Speech
The Bamford-Kowal-Bench Standard Sentence Lists comprise 21 lists, each having 16 sentences and 50 keywords (3 or 4 per sentence). The sentences were compiled from the utterances of hearing-impaired children and contain straightforward vocabulary and syntax. Although designed for testing children, the sentences have also proved useful and appropriate in testing adults.
The IHR Sentence Lists comprise 18 lists, each of 15 sentences, with 3 keywords specified in each sentence. The sentences contain straightforward vocabulary and syntax, like those used in the BKB Sentences.
"The North Wind and Sun" is a passage of continuous speech (duration 39s), useful for setting appropriate gain settings on listening devices (eg hearing aids).
These versions use audio-alone digital recordings of a male speaker (BKB and IHRSL) and female speaker (BKB and NWAS). The BKB and IHRSL Sentences Tests include additional programs (SPTESTER) for adaptive testing of speech in noise (and an alternative form of fixed-level testing).
The software requires Windows 95, 98 or XP (up to SP2). It is not compatible with Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista or Windows 7.
A CD-ROM includes the test materials, installation instructions, control and data viewing programs, calibration signals, masking noises and an extensive help file. These materials were prepared only as a CD-ROM for use with a PC (but not as CD audio).
Acknowledgements: Andrew Faulkner and UCL.
Click on the grey 'play' buttons below to hear the sounds (Flash player required). If the buttons do not appear, click on the links to download the file for playing offline.
Examples 1:
BKB 1 (Male):
BKB 2 (Male):
BKB 1 (Female):
BKB 2 (Female):
Examples 2:
IHRSL 1 (Male):
IHRSL 2 (Male):
Prices:
£720 (£600 + VAT) (see payment details)
Four Alternative Auditory Feature Test (FAAF), 3FC and ENV
The Four Alternative Auditory Feature Test (FAAF) comprises tests of 80 trials (preceded by 5 practice trials) with the key word occurring in the context of a carrier phrase, and is spoken by a male speaker. Five different orderings of the wordlist minimise response sequence learning effects on repeated presentation of the test. This version uses the original male-speaker recording in both its standard broadband form and its standard filtered forms, which give an index of the information extracted from low-, mid-, or high-frequency bands. The FAAF Test includes additional programs (SPTESTER) for adaptive testing of speech in noise (and an alternative form of fixed-level testing) and materials and protocols for the FAAF Test as used in the Modernising Hearing Aid Services (MHAS) studies (Adult and Paediatric arms).
The Three Alternative Forced Choice Lists (3FC) comprise 3 lists, each of 20 items, spoken by a male speaker, on which high scores can be achieved simply by discriminating the amplitude envelope. Response alternatives are real words or phrases having one, two or three, and many syllables.
The 1990 UCH Environmental Sounds Test (ENV) is a simple test of identification of environmental sounds. The subject or patient describes each sound and this response is scored as completely correct or partially correct by the tester. The five different orderings of the 20 sounds minimise response sequence learning effects on repeated presentation of the test.
The software requires Windows 95, 98 or XP (up to SP2). It is not compatible with Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista or Windows 7.
A CD-ROM includes the test materials, installation instructions, control and data viewing programs, calibration signals, masking noises and an extensive help file. These materials were prepared only as a CD-ROM for use with a PC (but not as CD audio).
Acknowledgements for ENV: Wanda Aleksy, Huw Cooper and the UCH Cochlear Implant Programme.
Click on the grey 'play' buttons below to hear the sounds (Flash player required). If the buttons do not appear, click on the links to download the file for playing offline.
Examples 1:
FAAF 1 (Male):
FAAF 2 (Male):
FAAF LO Filter:
FAAF MI Filter:
FAAF HI Filter:
FAAF LH Filter:
Examples 2:
3FC 1 (Male):
3FC 2 (Male):
Prices:
£300 (£250 + VAT) (see payment details)
Vowel-Consonant-Vowel (VCV) Test
This audio-alone Vowel-Consonant-Vowel test uses 20 consonants spoken in 3 vowel contexts (/a/, /i/ and /u/) by a female and a male speaker. Lists comprising 20 practice and 80 test trials are administered by a control program which gives a choice of combinations of speaker and vowel. The subject or patient selects one alternative from the twenty consonants listed for each trial, in a format well suited to use with a touch screen. The scoring program gives overall scores and also generates confusion matrices. A separate training program is also provided.
The VCV Test includes an additional program (CONFUSE), which allows flexibility in the number of consonants used and in test length, as well as in the selection of speaker and vowel context, but does not include testing with a noise masker.
The software requires Windows 95, 98 or XP (up to SP2). It is not compatible with Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista or Windows 7.
A CD-ROM includes the test material, installation instructions, control and data viewing programs, calibration signals, masking noises and an extensive help file. These materials were prepared only as a CD-ROM for use with a PC (but not as CD audio).
Acknowledgements: Andrew Faulkner and UCL.
Examples: VCV 1 (Female): VCV 2 (Male): VCV 3 (Female): VCV 4 (Male):
Prices:
£720 (£600 + VAT) (see payment details)