Fact · Speech recognition
Guthrie and Mackersie write that the most popular way to set the presentation level for a word recognition test is a set number of decibels above the speech recognition threshold.
Checked against its source on October 17, 2026
In the source's own words
“The most popular approach is to set the presentation level at a particular SL above the speech recognition threshold (SRT)”
A Comparison of Presentation Levels to Maximize Word Recognition Scores, Leslie A. Guthrie and Carol L. Mackersie, Journal of the American Academy of Audiology, 2009, Introduction.
Open the original (DOI 10.3766/jaaa.20.6.6)- What it measures
- SL means sensation level, the number of decibels above a person's own threshold. The authors cite surveys of audiologists in 1989, 1994 and 1998, which found that many used 30 or 40 dB SL re SRT.
- What it does not show
- This describes common practice in the US in surveys from the 1980s and 1990s, not a recommendation. The authors argue that methods for choosing the level are not well established for a wide range of hearing losses.