[Dichotic digit test. Case]. / Test de dígitos dicóticos. Estudio de un caso.

In this study we present a case of a 71-year-old female patient with sensorineural hearing loss and fitted with bilateral hearing aids. The patient complained of scant benefit from the hearing aid fitting with difficulties in understanding speech with background noise. The otolaryngology examination was normal. Audiological tests revealed bilateral sensorineural hearing loss with threshold values of 51 and 50 dB HL in the right and left ear. The Dichotic Digit Test was administered in a divided attention mode and focalizing the attention to each ear. Results in this test are consistent with a Central Auditory Processing Disorder.

[The effect of cochlear sensorineural hearing loss on binaural integration mechanisms]. / Efecto de la hipoacusia neurosensorial coclear en los mecanismos de integración biauricular.

INTRODUCTION: Binaural integration is the ability to process different messages when presented simultaneously in both ears. Any deficit in this mechanism implies poor auditory discrimination of background noise and difficulties in processing competing auditory signals. METHOD: In the present study, pairs of digits were presented dichotically to both ears in adult subjects with normal hearing and bilaterally symmetrical sensorineural cochlear hearing loss. RESULTS: Hearing sensitivity, the difficulty in hearing the pairs and the effect of aging determine the capacity for correct recognition. In general, subjects with normal hearing score higher than those with hearing loss. Hypoacusic subjects show a deficit in the recognition of digits presented to the left ear and a greater advantage in the right ear. CONCLUSIONS: The study of binaural integration mechanisms may be useful in the audiological evaluation of patients who reject bilateral amplification and in normal- hearing subjects presenting difficulties to understand speech in noisy settings.