RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: To propose and evaluate a new method for assessing the potential impact on speech intelligibility when wearing a hearing protection device (HPD) in a noisy environment. DESIGN: The method is based on a self adaptive method for finding the speech reception threshold (SRT) using speech material from the Callsign acquisition test (CAT) presented at a constant level while adjusting the level of a background noise. A key point is to primarily examine the impact of the HPD; i.e. the difference between occluded and unoccluded SRTs, presented as the speech intelligibility impact level. STUDY SAMPLE: A total of 31 test subjects. RESULTS: The method is shown to be stable, with a minimum amount of learning effect, and capable of detecting differences between hearing protection devices. It is also shown that low-attenuation passive HPDs are likely to have a very small effect on speech intelligibility in noise, and that an electronic HPD with a level-dependant function has the potential to improve intelligibility. CONCLUSIONS: The results are encouraging regarding the precision, repeatability, and applicability of the proposed method.