Briefly, the talker is a female who produces speech of average intelligibility. The multi-talker babble can be adjusted to simulate the signal to babble ratio (SBR) encountered in everyday listening situations. Each test item is a passage of speech, 9 or 10 sentences in length, about a familiar topic. The listener should be informed of the passage topic. Each passage is presented one sentence at a time. The passage score is based on the proportion of 25 scoring words correctly repeated. Scores typically are averaged across several test passages to produce a measure of intelligibility for a particular listening situation.

Obtaining the CST
Format: Audio Compact Disc
The CST is included on the HARL Speech Intelligibility Tests audio compact disc along with the Speech Intelligibility Rating Test (SIR Test). It may be used in a regular CD player for manual presentation or in computer-controlled CD-ROM. This format also allows random access to any sentence if you use a computer-controlled CD-ROM. However, it contains only the audio portion of the test (no video signal). To facilitate manual presentation of the test, brief pauses have been inserted between the sentences. Materials include a calibration noise for setting levels, a set of practice passages, a set of test passages, and some additional passages. All speech passages are recorded with the talker on the left channel and the competing babble on the right channel.

These tests were developed at the Hearing Aid Research Laboratory of The University of Memphis with primary support from the Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service. Support was also provided by the Center for Research Initiatives and Strategies for the Communicatively Impaired (CRISCI), The University of Memphis.

Format: DVD
The original video recordings of the Connected Speech Test passages have been transferred onto DVD. The CST test passages are organized into six-passage audio-visually equivalent sets as discussed in Cox, et al, (1989). This disk plays in a computer DVD drive using DVD software or in a stand-alone DVD player. The test is administered by manually pausing the disk between sentences using the space bar or the pause button. Scoring is accomplished manually.

Cost: $50 (US) per DVD

Purchase:
CST administration program
Format: CD

Cost: $30 (US)

This software administers and scores the audio CD version of the CST.  In order to use the software for scoring/administration of the CST you must have the CST audio CD and a CD-ROM drive on your computer.  It will not work with the DVD version.

Cox, R.M., Alexander, G.C., Gilmore, C. and Pusakulich, K.M. "Use of the Connected Speech Test (CST) with Hearing-Impaired Listeners". Ear and Hearing, 9(4), 198-207 (1988).

Cox, R.M., Alexander, G.C. and Gilmore, C.A. "Development of the connected speech test (CST)." Ear and Hearing, 8 (supplement): 119S-126S (1987).