list equivalency of the persian quick speech in noise test on hearing impaired subjects

background and aim : the quick speech in noise (q-sin) test have been designed to evalu­ate individuals’ ability to recognize speech in noise. this study established to evaluate the test-retest reliability and equivalency of the five test lists of the persian q-sin test in subjects with sensory hearing loss (shl) and normal hearing individuals. methods : this cross-sectional study was per­formed on equal number of subjects with normal hearing and shl, 36 in each group. the participants aged from 18 to 55 years old. the persian q-sin test materials which were reco­rded on a cd were presented binaurally via an audiometer using standard earphones. for eval­uating reliability retest was conducted on the same subjects after three weeks. results : the mean signal-to-noise ratio (snr) loss was 0.16 (sd=0.70 db) in normal hearing subjects. there was a significant difference bet­ ween the mean results of lists 1, 2 and 4 and lists 2, 3 and 4 as well as lists 4 and 5. the mean snr loss in subjects with shl was 6.62 (sd=3.20 db). there was a significant difference between the mean results of list 1 and that of lists 3, 4 and 5 (p<0.001). for reliability analysis of the two groups, there were no signi­ficant differences between test-retest results of the five test lists. conclusion: lists 3 and 5 as well as lists 2 and 5 are reliable and equivalent for determining snr loss in individuals with normal hearing and shl individuals.