Which acronym is commonly used to estimate the loss of speech and speech reception threshold (SRT) by averaging air thresholds at specific frequencies?

The term "Pure Tone Average" is commonly used in audiology to estimate the overall degree of hearing loss by averaging air conduction thresholds at specific frequencies, typically 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz. This average provides a general idea of a person's hearing sensitivity and is particularly useful in clinical settings for assessing the degree of hearing impairment.

By calculating the Pure Tone Average, audiologists can relate the average of these threshold levels to speech perceptions, including the loss of speech and the speech reception threshold (SRT). This is significant because it helps in determining the appropriate fitting for hearing aids or other hearing interventions.

Other terms, such as the Speech Recognition Index, Hearing Sensitivity Average, or Audio Threshold Mean, may be relevant in the broader context of audiology, but do not specifically refer to the established method of averaging pure tone thresholds to correlate with speech threshold estimations. Each of those terms serves different functions within the field, but none align directly with the process of averaging air thresholds at specific frequencies to estimate speech reception performance as accurately as the Pure Tone Average does.