Development and psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of the Phoneme Recognition Test: A central auditory processing measure.

Objectives: The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Phoneme Recognition Test (P-PRT) in normal subjects and cochlear implant (CI) users. Material & Methods: This study includes developing the Persian phoneme recognition test (PRT), determining its validity and reliability, and comparing the results of a control group versus CI users. The test reliability was examined through a test-retest with an approximately five-week interval. In the present survey, 363 subjects were investigated in three stages. The face validity evaluation stage was conducted on 40 subjects. The psychometric properties of the P-PRT were evaluated in 323 individuals (225 normal subjects and 98 CI users). The test-retest reliability was examined in all the 225 subjects in the control group and 40 CI users. Results: The results confirmed the face validity of the P-PRT. No significant differences were observed between the two genders in terms of performance in the P-PRT. Significant differences were observed between the control and CI groups. Evaluating the test-retest reliability suggested perfect reliability (r>0.9) in both groups. Significant differences were observed in the P-PRT between the adults and the 7-year-old subjects compared to other age groups. Conclusion: The P-PRT can be used as a valid and reliable test for clinically evaluating phoneme recognition abilities and monitoring the rehabilitation progress.

Can Pitch Mismatch Be Diagnosed in Children Who Use Electric-Acoustic Stimulation?

Introduction Pitch mismatch is one of the most important problems of users of bimodal cochlear implants, which affects their life satisfaction. Children with acquired hearing loss cannot explain their pitch mismatch problems, as they have had no auditory experience. This study tries to diagnose pitch mismatch in these children through the sound-induced flash illusion test. Materials and methods In this study, 20 children with a bimodal cochlear implant and 20 children with normal hearing, within the age range of 8 to 13 years old, were examined using the sound-induced flash illusion test. In this test, participants received one flash with one to four beep sounds, and they were asked to indicate the number of perceived flashes. Results The results revealed that in the bimodal implantation group, when the flash was provided with one beep, at certain frequencies, children expressed that they saw two flashes. However, the results were not the same in children with normal hearing. Conclusion The results indicated that at frequencies where the auditory information of the hearing aids and those of the cochlear implants overlap, pitch mismatch develops, which can significantly affect the auditory performance of bimodal users.