Peer-reviewed research
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 · DOI 10.3766/jaaa.20.6.6
Read the originalRead on October 17, 2026
- What it is
- A study from San Diego State University that measured phoneme recognition for 40 adults with sensorineural hearing loss at many presentation levels, and compared methods for choosing the level at which a word recognition test is given. It also reviews how audiologists choose that level in practice.
- How much weight it carries
- Peer-reviewed. The sample is 40 adults with sensorineural loss, so the best level may differ for other groups. The full text is open on PubMed Central.
Facts taken from this source
- 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.
“The most popular approach is to set the presentation level at a particular SL above the speech recognition threshold (SRT)” (Introduction)
- In a study of 40 adults with sensorineural hearing loss, Guthrie and Mackersie found that for people with moderately severe or severe losses, presenting words 5 dB below their uncomfortable loudness level gave the highest phoneme recognition scores.
“For participants with moderately severe/severe losses, the UCL - 5 dB method resulted in the highest phoneme recognition scores” (Abstract (Results))