Speech audiometry

—Recent study trends—

Abstract

Original publications on speech audiometry published during the past 10 years were analyzed to survey study trends in speech audiometry. The journal names, study objectives, subjects, study methods, and terms in the report titles were examined. The analysis showed that speech audiometry has been mostly used to evaluate hearing aids and cochlear implants. The second most common purpose was to record the results of speech audiometry in case reports. A few papers used speech audiometry to analyze confused speech perception or as part of a differential diagnosis of hearing impairment. Compared with study trends in speech audiometry for 30 years ago, the present investigation revealed a reduction in the importance of speech audiometry as a tool for the differential diagnosis of hearing impairment. Considering the increasing number of hearing-impaired people in today's aging society, speech audiometry might become a more important method for evaluating speech perception ability.