Objectives: Speech recognition tests are used to reveal the accuracy of patient auditory reception and processing of speech material, usually in terms of a percent correct score for monosyllabic words. This can be problematic when testing children because their speech recognition scores are affected by their level of language development as well as by their auditory capabilities. Phoniatric evaluations using articulation test detect articulation disorders affect the final word recognition scores. Accordingly, the aim of this current work was designed to assess word recognition according to language age of hearing-impaired child and to compare results of word recognition tests before and after phoniatric evaluation.
Patients and Methods: Thirty-two hearing-impaired children fitted with appropriate digital hearing aids with comparable technologies. Comparison of speech recognition scores was done before and after application of Arabic articulation test. Errors in speech production was used to correct speech recognition scores after phoniatric evaluation.
Results: Scores of word recognition were improved after correction of speech production errors detected by Arabic articulation test. Scores also reflected importance of language rehabilitation and age of interventions.
Conclusion: Detection of speech errors using an appropriate articulation test is an important step in evaluation speech recognition of hearing-impaired children