Audible Contrast Threshold (ACT) testing

There is discussion starting here → ACT/Audible Contrast Threshold

It is only important if we can use it. imo; ACT is not yet ready for prime time. Why not? It is a quick-and-simple test!

Yes, it may be simple. Yes, it may be fast. Though, the VA/Veterans Administration expensive Audiometer equipment is not equipped to perform the ACT test. I know this from personal experience. I also suspect the same is true for most Audiometer equipment used by private audiologists and by national chain stores.

So we can't use it yet because it's not cheap yet. It's too early.
 
Before getting Oticon Intents, I was tested for Speech In Noise/SIN capability → here.

But guess what they did with the results of that test? Nothing! Not a damn thing as far as I can tell.

To be fair, perhaps if my SIN-test was terrible they would have done something else as opposed to accepting the Genie 2 first fit defaults for Speech In Noise/SIN.

Oticon Genie 2 fitting software provides several choices in the FITTING step when you click (MoreSound Intelligence) in the left pane. The various choices provide (more dBs or less dB's) of Neural Noise Suppression.

Here's a picture of the default below. I had to intervene in my First-Fit to change the default because I find that Moderate situations are "Easy" for me. Note that; there are also other choices in the SOUND CONFIGURATION pulldown menu. But my point (without wandering off into the weeds) is that my first fit was destined to be the default settings for Speech In Noise/SIN, and the ACT value was not available to be used at all.

c2.jpg
 
In case it hasn't been said somewhere before in this thread or in links from this thread, the Oticon Genie 2 software does give the option to input the result of the ACT test into it so that it can use it as a criteria to determine how to most appropriately set the parameters in the MoreSound Intelligence menu. Of course one can toy with it by entering various 'hypothetical' ACT values into it to see how Genie 2 would set the MSI parameters, just for kick.

Before, with other SIN type tests, it's up to the HCP to view those test results manually and just subjectively interpret how they would translate to Genie 2 parameter values. And often times, as pointed out by @pvc , the HCP usually chooses to do nothing to translate the SIN test results into actionable Genie 2 parameter values. But with the ACT test, it can bypass the need to have the HCP take actionable translation that they might not be comfortable doing themselves, because it has been programmed to do the ACT result to parameter values translation automatically itself, as long as the HCP takes the time to input this ACT result into Genie 2, which is only a few seconds to do.
 
Thanks Mr V! Yes, we can input the measured ACT value into Genie 2. But only when it becomes available. The critical path for using your own personal ACT value relies on the ability to measure ACT as part of your hearing test, and with the Audiometer equipment currently being used by your audiologist.

Sadly, I don't believe that capability resides in all (or even most) of the Audiometer equipment in use today. Though, I could be wrong! If anyone finds a hearing test today that can produce the ACT value, then please let us know what Audiometer equipment was used.

I would have been delighted if the Audiometer equipment used for my hearing test could produce my personal ACT value. AFAIK; The VA does not skimp on equipment and their Audiometer equipment does not yet have the capability to produce the ACT value. So I am waiting for the technology in Audiometer equipment to catch up.
 
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Suggestion: Ask your Audiologist if his/her Audiometer equipment has the capability to measure Speech in Noise and produce the Audible Contrast Threshold/ACT number?
  • Here's a → link that describes the Act Test. Note that the video is from → Interacoustics. Therefore, I am guessing that their Interacoustics Audiometer equipment, or at least, their newest Interacoustics Audiometer equipment has the ability to measure ACT.
  • The ACT value is a number between minus -4.0 and plus 16.0 as shown → here.
  • Audiometer equipment is expensive and Audiologists don't buy new equipment on a whim.
 
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My understanding is that older generation audiometry equipment cannot support ACT. And even if you have a newer generation audiometer that can support ACT, you will also need to buy a license in order to use ACT. I have no idea how much such a license costs, and whether it's a one-time license fee or a subscription-based recurring fee model. And like you said, for HCPs who have older audiometers that don't support ACT, it's not cheap to shell out tens of thousand dollars more for a new audiometer simply to be able to run the ACT test itself.
 
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