Quick Speech in Noise (QuickSIN)

AC40 Support

Welcome to the product training for AC40 audiometer. On this page you will find an overview of all the available training materials and support.

Difficulty with hearing in background noise is a common complaint among hearing aid users. Therefore, the measurement of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) loss is important because a person’s ability to understand speech in noise cannot be reliably predicted from the pure tone audiogram.

The QuickSIN test provides a quick estimate of SNR loss. A list of six sentences with five key words per sentence is presented in four-talker babble noise. The sentences are presented at pre- recorded signal-to-noise ratios which decrease in 5-dB steps from 25 (very easy) to 0 (extremely difficult). The SNRs used are: 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 and 0, encompassing normal to severely impaired performance in noise.

Headphones, insert phones, or free field speaker

Press and hold the Tests button and use the black scroll wheel to select QuickSIN. The audiometer will automatically default to “wavefile”.

Press and hold to select the desired wavefile, e.g. List 2. The first few lists in the list can be used for practice, so the user will familiarize with the test.

Patient Instructions: “Imagine that you are at a party. There will be a woman talking and several other talkers in the background. The woman’s voice is easy to hear at first, because her voice is louder than the others. Repeat each sentence the woman says. The background talkers will gradually become louder, making it difficult to understand the woman’s voice, but please guess and repeat as much of each sentence as possible.” Note: It may help to stress to the client to repeat what they have heard, even if they have only heard one word from the sentence as this may improve their score.

Presentation level: You may choose your own preferred test level (Recommendation: 70dB HL level for a client with a pure tone average of 45dB or below. For pure tone average above 50dB HL, we recommend a level judged to be loud, but not discomforting for your client).