What type of information does speech audiometry provide?

Speech audiometry is primarily concerned with evaluating how well an individual can understand speech. It involves the presentation of word lists or sentences at various intensity levels to determine the speech recognition thresholds and speech discrimination abilities of the listener. This assessment provides valuable insights into a person's functional hearing abilities in everyday communication scenarios, which is crucial for diagnosing hearing loss and determining the need for hearing aids or other interventions.

While the other options touch on aspects of auditory function, they do not capture the specific focus of speech audiometry. For instance, assessing hearing sensitivity at various frequencies relates more to pure-tone audiometry, which measures thresholds for specific tones rather than speech. Similarly, evaluating auditory processing speed deals with how quickly the brain can interpret auditory information but does not directly address the ability to comprehend speech. Lastly, measuring sound intensity thresholds is also part of pure-tone audiometry and is not specifically linked to understanding spoken language. Thus, the essence of speech audiometry lies in its ability to assess a person’s ability to understand speech in a practical context, making option C the best answer.