The Chinese Sound Test is a hearing screening tool developed by Children’s Hearing Foundation for the Chinese-speaking population (Hung, Lin, Tsai & Lee, 2016; Hung, Lee & Tsai, 2018). This tool not only allows test administrators to efficiently evaluate whether children with hearing loss are able to accurately react to the sounds necessary for language learning, but also provides information regarding the adequacy of children’s hearing aids.
From the Ling Six-Sound Test to the Chinese Sound Test
The Ling Six-Sound Test (Ling & Ling, 1978) has been widely used in English-speaking countries, including testing sounds /u, m, a, i, ʃ and s/. These sounds cover the range of mid-low to high frequencies in English and are usually used to check children’s hearing status. However, some of these sounds, such as /ʃ/, do not exist in Chinese, which are therefore difficult for Chinese-speaking administrators to pronounce accurately. As a consequence, it may compromise the reliability of testing results.
To provide a screening tool that can meet the clinical needs of Chinese-speaking population, the CHF research team has considered several factors, such as the acoustic features, acquisition age, and articulatory variability of Chinese sounds. Moreover, the research team has also taken clinicians’ and patients’ feedback into account to ensure high clinical practicality. Finally, six Chinese testing sounds were selected, namely /u, ə, a, i, tɕh, and s/.
The Application of the Chinese Sound Test
The Chinese Sound Test can either be used for a formal hearing assessment conducted by audiologists, or be administered by parents and caregivers to monitor children’s hearing status in daily life. Crucially, the Chinese Sound Test should help them identify hearing-related red-flags so that appropriate actions can be taken immediately.
