Curiously, would sweeping tests be effective measures? Say instead of the typical "here is X frequency and Y volume, press button when you hear it", why not sweep through ranges at different volumes and then have the patient press the button when they experience difficulty or notice a chance.
The only roadblocks I can think of is that of reaction time and/or the possibility the sweeping may progress too quickly for you to isolate a bad zone.
I think you hit the nail on the head as to why sweeping tests won't work.
What might make more sense in my opinion is to first make the audiogram simply more granular. So, instead of having the most common: 250 Hz - 500 Hz - 1000 Hz - 2000 Hz - 4000 Hz - 6000 Hz - 8000 Hz, add detail to areas where consonants and vowels are clustered, this would help align the audiogram with word deficiencies.
So perhaps we expand it to: 250 Hz, 300 Hz, 400 Hz, 500 Hz, 750 Hz, 1000 Hz, 1200 Hz, 1500 Hz, 1800 Hz, 2000 Hz, 2200 Hz, 3000 Hz, 4000 Hz, 5000 Hz, 6000 Hz, 8000 Hz, 10 kHz, 12 kHz, 14 kHz, 16 kHz.
From there, I don't know if it exists, but I wonder if there is a way to reproduce parts of speech as an audiogram. FOR example, an audiogram that tests how well I can hear the "f" sound, or "t" sound, or "r" sound. If I understand how the cochlea functions correctly, this would also give clinicians a better idea of specific ranges of deficit.
Once regenerative medicines are on the market, these upgrades may help doctors also understand where recovery is taking place, and if more doses are needed of FX-322. So, for example, if my baseline word score was 25/50, and I had deficits in the 2200 Hz - 8000 Hz range, and deficits hearing "k", "t", "f", "sh", it might help the doctor know what the first series of dosages might look like.
Then, on a return visit, if my word score was 40/50, which is good, but has room for improvement. A second pass at this advanced audiogram might show that I still have deficits between 2000 Hz and 4000 Hz, and with "k" and "t" letter sounds. Again, this would help the doctor target the appropriate dosage level.