ARIA treatment benefits are related to severity of dichotic listening deficits in children.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the relationship between dichotic listening (DL) benefits from treatment with Auditory Rehabilitation for Interaural Asymmetry (ARIA) and the severity of DL deficits quantified prior to the onset of treatment. We hypothesized that children with more severe DL deficits would demonstrate greater benefits following ARIA. METHOD: A scale that quantifies deficit severity was applied to dichotic listening scores obtained before and after training with ARIA at multiple clinical sites (n = 92). Using multiple regression analyses, we evaluated the predictive effects of deficit severity on DL outcomes. RESULTS: Results demonstrated that deficit severity can predict benefits from ARIA, as measured by improvements in DL scores in both ears. CONCLUSION: ARIA is an adaptive training paradigm for improving binaural integration abilities in children with DL deficits. The results from this study suggest that children with more severe DL deficits achieve greater benefits from ARIA and that a severity scale may provide important clinical information for recommending intervention.

Auditory Attention Ability under Dichotic Dual-Task Situation in Adults with Listening Difficulties.

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies have reported poor cognition, such as attention and working memory, in adults with listening difficulties (LiD). However, they do not adequately describe the actual state of poor attention ability in adults with LiD. We examined the state of auditory attention in adults with and without LiD in tasks requiring multiple attention controls. METHODS: Twenty-one adults who had normal hearing but complained about LiD encountered during everyday life and 22 healthy controls were included. We presented a target detection task using an odd-ball format for one ear and a sentence repetition task for the other ear. In the target detection task, participants listened to the 1,000-Hz tone served as the standard stimulus, while they had to accept a 2,000-Hz tone presented as the deviant stimulus. In the sentence repetition task, short sentences were presented. The stimuli presented to them were played on a personal computer at the most comfortable level. The participants heard these stimuli through headphones. They were required to press a key for standard stimuli in the target detection task and repeat what they heard immediately in the repetition task. We compared the response accuracy for each ear task between adults with and without LiD. RESULTS: Our results showed that there were significant differences between the participant groups in the auditory dual-task under the dichotic listening situation. When examined individually, four adults with LiD had decreased scores in both the sentence repetition and target detection task, while the other nine participants showed a bias toward either task. Furthermore, the analysis of reaction time for pressing button revealed that the standard deviation of reaction time was extended in participants who scored poorly in either of the ear tasks. On the other hand, all adults without LiD were able to conduct the auditory dual-task exactly and promptly. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that adults with LiD have difficulties in appropriately allocating various cognitive abilities required for each task. We concluded that auditory attention is an important ability to conduct the auditory dual-task, and this is applicable for adults with LiD. Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to use auditory tests that require complex attentional abilities in listening, such as those required in daily life, to assess adults with LiD.

Dichotic listening abilities among liturgical teachers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

This study examines patterns of ear advantage and attentional capacity among religious teachers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church versus adults who are not religious teachers. Religious education, rooted mainly in Christianity and Islam, has a long history in Ethiopia. Most of such education has been practised through recitations and oral presentations, which demand perceptual vigour particularly on the part of the teachers. The present study employed a dichotic listening paradigm, using monosyllabic word and CV-syllables listening tasks, administered in three attentional conditions: non-forced (NF), forced-right (FR) and forced-left (FL). 54 right-handed male adults (27 teachers and 27 non-teachers) served as participants. Percentages of correct responses per ear, as well as Laterality Index (LI) were calculated and analysed using a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistical procedure. Results showed that, on both listening tasks, the religious teachers demonstrated a higher ear advantage in all conditions, indicative of stronger language asymmetry (in non-forced condition) and better ability to focus on one specific ear (in forced conditions). The findings of the present study are very much in support of the theory of neuroplasticity in human cognition (Konorski, 1948).

Dichotic listening performance and interhemispheric integration after administration of hydrocortisone.

Chronic stress has been shown to have long-term effects on functional hemispheric asymmetries in both humans and non-human species. The short-term effects of acute stress exposure on functional hemispheric asymmetries are less well investigated. It has been suggested that acute stress can affect functional hemispheric asymmetries by modulating inhibitory function of the corpus callosum, the white matter pathway that connects the two hemispheres. On the molecular level, this modulation may be caused by a stress-related increase in cortisol, a major stress hormone. Therefore, it was the aim of the present study to investigate the acute effects of cortisol on functional hemispheric asymmetries. Overall, 60 participants were tested after administration of 20 mg hydrocortisone or a placebo tablet in a cross-over design. Both times, a verbal and an emotional dichotic listening task to assess language and emotional lateralization, as well as a Banich-Belger task to assess interhemispheric integration were applied. Lateralization quotients were determined for both reaction times and correctly identified syllables in both dichotic listening tasks. In the Banich-Belger task, across-field advantages were determined to quantify interhemispheric integration. While we could replicate previously reported findings for these tasks in the placebo session, we could not detect any differences in asymmetry between hydrocortisone and placebo treatment. This partially corroborates the results of a previous study we performed using social stress to induce cortisol increases. This suggests that an increase in cortisol does not influence dichotic listening performance on a behavioral level. As other studies reported an effect of stress hormones on functional hemispheric asymmetries on a neuro-functional level, future research using neuronal imaging methods would be helpful in the characterization of the relation of hemispheric asymmetries and stress hormones.

Dichotic listening deficits in amblyaudia are characterized by aberrant neural oscillations in auditory cortex.

OBJECTIVE: Children diagnosed with auditory processing disorder (APD) show deficits in processing complex sounds that are associated with difficulties in higher-order language, learning, cognitive, and communicative functions. Amblyaudia (AMB) is a subcategory of APD characterized by abnormally large ear asymmetries in dichotic listening tasks. METHODS: Here, we examined frequency-specific neural oscillations and functional connectivity via high-density electroencephalography (EEG) in children with and without AMB during passive listening of nonspeech stimuli. RESULTS: Time-frequency maps of these "brain rhythms" revealed stronger phase-locked beta-gamma (~35 Hz) oscillations in AMB participants within bilateral auditory cortex for sounds presented to the right ear, suggesting a hypersynchronization and imbalance of auditory neural activity. Brain-behavior correlations revealed neural asymmetries in cortical responses predicted the larger than normal right-ear advantage seen in participants with AMB. Additionally, we found weaker functional connectivity in the AMB group from right to left auditory cortex, despite their stronger neural responses overall. CONCLUSION: Our results reveal abnormally large auditory sensory encoding and an imbalance in communication between cerebral hemispheres (ipsi- to -contralateral signaling) in AMB. SIGNIFICANCE: These neurophysiological changes might lead to the functionally poorer behavioral capacity to integrate information between the two ears in children with AMB.

Comparison of Diagnostic Auditory Processing Test Scores Measured in Clinical and School Settings.

Purpose The study aimed to compare auditory processing and cognitive test scores measured in a clinical setting with that measured in a school setting using a repeated-measures design. This was done on typically developing children and children with auditory processing disorder (APD). Method Thirty-two children (16 typically developing and 16 with APD), aged 7 years, were evaluated using three diagnostic auditory processing tests and a cognitive test. The tests included the Speech Perception in Noise Test in Kannada, the Gap Detection Threshold Test, the Dichotic Consonant-Vowel Test, and the Auditory Memory and Sequencing Test in Kannada. All the children were evaluated in an audiological diagnostic setting, as well as in their school. Results No significant difference in scores was obtained in the two settings for all the four tests that were administered. This was seen in the typically developing children and the children with APD. Additionally, the pass/fail decision for each test did not alter in the two settings. Moderate to almost perfect agreement was seen between the tests carried out in the two settings in both groups, on a Kappa test of agreement. In both settings, the children with APD performed significantly poorer than the typically developing children on the four diagnostic tests. Conclusions The findings of the study indicate that the diagnostic auditory processing tests and the cognitive test can be carried out in school settings as effectively as tests carried out in an audiological diagnostic clinical setting. This will enable carrying out diagnostic tests on children in schools soon after they are referred on screening auditory processing tools, administered in the educational setting. This will prevent missing diagnosis of children who fail to report to a diagnostic audiological center for detailed auditory processing evaluation.

An optimal dichotic-listening paradigm for the assessment of hemispheric dominance for speech processing.

Dichotic-listening paradigms are widely accepted as non-invasive tests of hemispheric dominance for language processing and represent a standard diagnostic tool for the assessment of developmental auditory and language disorders. Despite its popularity in research and clinical settings, dichotic paradigms show comparatively low reliability, significantly threatening the validity of conclusions drawn from the results. Thus, the aim of the present work was to design and evaluate a novel, highly reliable dichotic-listening paradigm for the assessment of hemispheric differences. Based on an extensive literature review, the paradigm was optimized to account for the main experimental variables which are known to systematically bias task performance or affect random error variance. The main design principle was to minimize the relevance of higher cognitive functions on task performance in order to obtain stimulus-driven laterality estimates. To this end, the key design features of the paradigm were the use of stop-consonant vowel (CV) syllables as stimulus material, a single stimulus pair per trial presentation mode, and a free recall (single) response instruction. Evaluating a verbal and manual response-format version of the paradigm in a sample of N = 50 healthy participants, we yielded test-retest intra-class correlations of rICC = .91 and .93 for the two response format versions. These excellent reliability estimates suggest that the optimal paradigm may offer an effective and efficient alternative to currently used paradigms both in research and diagnostic.

Correlating performance on the Listening in Spatialised Noise - Sentences test (LiSN-S) with the Listening in Spatialised Noise - Universal test (LiSN-U).

Objective: The aim of this study was to correlate 6- to 7-year-old children's results on each condition of the Listening in Spatialised Noise - Sentences test (LiSN-S) with the new language-independent version, the Listening in Spatialised Noise - Universal test (LiSN-U), to examine the strength of the relationship between them and with memory in a small sample of typically developing children.Design: Correlational analysis.Study samples: Sixteen typically developing 6- to 7-year-old children completed the LiSN-S and LiSN-U as well as the Test of Auditory Processing Skills - Third Edition (TAPS-3) number memory forward and reversed subtests which assess short-term memory and working memory, respectively.Results: Moderate positive correlations were found between LiSN-S and LiSN-U spatially separated conditions (though this did not reach significance), and co-located conditions. Correlations between the LiSN-S and LiSN-U conditions and number memory forward and reversed subtests were not significant.Conclusion: This study shows a moderate relationship between the LiSN-S and LiSN-U when the distractors and target speech are co-located. A study with a larger sample of participants is needed to further understand the relationship between the two tests, especially for the spatially separated condition.

Detection of hearing problems in Aboriginal and Torres strait islander children: a comparison between clinician-administered and self-administrated hearing tests.

Objective: This study evaluated the agreement of self-administered tests with clinician-administered tests in detecting hearing loss and speech-in-noise deficits in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children.Design: Children completed clinician-administered audiometry, self-administered automatic audiometry (AutoAud), clinician-administered Listening in Spatialised Noise - Sentences test and self-administered tablet-based hearing game Sound Scouts. Comparisons were made between tests to determine the agreement of the self-administered tests with clinician-administered tests in detecting hearing loss and speech-in-noise deficits.Study sample: Two hundred and ninety seven Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 4-14 years from three schools.Results: Acceptable threshold differences of ≤5 dB between AutoAud and manual audiometry hearing thresholds were found for 88% of thresholds, with a greater agreement for older than for younger children. Consistent pass/fail results on the Sound Scouts speech-in-quiet measure and manual audiometry were found for 81% of children. Consistent pass/fail results on the Sound Scouts speech-in-noise measure and LiSN-S high-cue condition were found for 73% of children.Conclusions: This study shows good potential in using self-administered applications as initial tests for hearing problems in children. These tools may be especially valuable for children in remote locations and those from low socio-economic backgrounds who may not have easy access to healthcare.

Certain, but incorrect: on the relation between subjective certainty and accuracy in sound localisation.

When asked to identify the position of a sound, listeners can report its perceived location as well as their subjective certainty about this spatial judgement. Yet, research to date focused primarily on measures of perceived location (e.g., accuracy and precision of pointing responses), neglecting instead the phenomenological experience of subjective spatial certainty. The present study aimed to investigate: (1) changes in subjective certainty about sound position induced by listening with one ear plugged (simulated monaural listening), compared to typical binaural listening and (2) the relation between subjective certainty about sound position and localisation accuracy. In two experiments (N = 20 each), participants localised single sounds delivered from one of 60 speakers hidden from view in front space. In each trial, they also provided a subjective rating of their spatial certainty about sound position. No feedback on response was provided. Overall, participants were mostly accurate and certain about sound position in binaural listening, whereas their accuracy and subjective certainty decreased in monaural listening. Interestingly, accuracy and certainty dissociated within single trials during monaural listening: in some trials participants were certain but incorrect, in others they were uncertain but correct. Furthermore, unlike accuracy, subjective certainty rapidly increased as a function of time during the monaural listening block. Finally, subjective certainty changed as a function of perceived location of the sound source. These novel findings reveal that listeners quickly update their subjective confidence on sound position, when they experience an altered listening condition, even in the absence of feedback. Furthermore, they document a dissociation between accuracy and subjective certainty when mapping auditory input to space.

Evaluation of a sentence test in noise in children with hearing impairment.

INTRODUCTION: School-aged children with hearing impairment (HI) listen and learn in noisy environments. On-going monitoring of speech understanding in noise is essential to adjust clinical interventions accordingly. METHODS: The aim of this study was to assess Dantale II in a paediatric population. The secondary aims were identification of differences and similarities between groups of children with HI and normal hearing and between different hearing technologies; investigation of possible associations between Dantale II and verbal working memory. This was a longitudinal, prospective study comparing groups of children (n = 70) using the Dantale II with five-word sentences and verbal working memory with the Clinical Evaluation of Language Functioning-4. RESULTS: Dantale II seems clinically feasible from the age of six years. Children with NH outperformed children with HI both on completion of the tests and dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) scores. Children with hearing aids outperformed children with cochlear implants on dB SNR scores. A significant and moderately strong association between speech understanding in noise and verbal working memory was identified. CONCLUSIONS: Our study produced knowledge about a new generation of children with HI, who showed potentials not previously described. Future research on cognitive development of paediatric populations with HI is essential, as knowledge from adult populations cannot be transferred directly to paediatric populations. FUNDING: The project received funding from the Innovation Foundation, the Oticon Foundation, Decibel and The Capital Region of Denmark. TRIAL REGISTRATION: not relevant.

The development of the listening in spatialised noise - universal test (LiSN-U) and preliminary evaluation in English-speaking listeners.

Objective: To create a language independent version of the Listening in Spatialised Noise - Sentences test (LiSN-S) and evaluate it in an English-speaking population.Design: Test development and normative data collection. LiSN-Universal (LiSN-U) targets consisted of CVCV pseudo-words (e.g. /mupa/). Two looped distracter tracks consisted of CVCVCVCV pseudo-words. The listener's task was to repeat back the target pseudo-words. Stimuli were presented over headphones using an iPad. Speech reception thresholds were measured adaptively. In the co-located condition all stimuli came from directly in front. In the spatially-separated condition the distracters emanated from +90° and -90° azimuth. Perceived location was manipulated using head-related transfer functions. Spatial advantage was calculated as the difference in dB between the co-located and spatially separated conditions.Study samples: Stimulus intelligibility data were collected from 20 adults. Normative data were collected from native English speakers (23 adults and 127 children).Results: Children's spatially separated, co-located, and spatial advantage results improved significantly with age. Spatial advantage was 4-6 dB larger in the LiSN-U than LiSN-S depending on age group.Conclusion: Whereas additional research in non-native English populations is required, the LiSN-U appears to be an effective tool for measuring spatial processing ability.

Perceptual organization of sequential stimuli in cochlear implant listeners: A temporal processing approach.

OBJECTIVE: Cochlear Implant (CI) users often suffer difficulties in perceiving speech in noisy environments that could be attributed to reduced Auditory Stream Segregation (ASS) ability. ASS is the process used to separate a complex sound into different perceptual streams. The evidence that CI listeners routinely experience stream segregation skill is limited and equivocal. The present study was aimed to investigate the effects of temporal cues on ASS performance in postlingually deaf listeners with CI. METHODS: Nineteen (age range: 28-64 years old) monaurally cochlear implanted listener participated in this study. They were presented with 30-s sequences of alternating stimuli in a repeating A-B-A-A-B-A…sequence, where "tone A" corresponds to a stimulus applied to electrode 11, and "tone B" to a stimulus on one of the other electrode. To investigate the effect of temporal cues on ASS, four different tone repetition times (TRTs) were utilized: 50, 100, 150, and 200 ms. Speech discrimination scores in noise were also recorded for every CI recipients. RESULTS: Only 6 (32%) CI users demonstrated ASS pattern similar to the normal hearing subjects, while the majority of the users (n=13) possessed poorer ASS skills. An analysis of variance showed a significant effect of electrode separation (p<0.001) and TRT (p=0.041), but there was no significant interaction between electrode separation and TRT variables. The best ASS performance was obtained when TRT was 200 ms, and there was no significant effect for other TRT conditions. Moderate, significant correlations between streaming and speech discrimination measurement in noise was also observed (r=0.62), with better stream segregation associated with better understanding of speech in noise. CONCLUSION: ASS is a contributing factor in the ability to perceive speech in background noise. The inability of some CI recipients to perform stream segregation may therefore contribute to their difficulties in noisy backgrounds. Furthermore, stream segregation ability is related to the tone repetition time between the sounds.

The Effect of Varying Test Administration and Scoring Procedures on Three Tests of (Central) Auditory Processing Disorder.

BACKGROUND: There is currently no widely accepted objective method used to identify (central) auditory processing disorder ([C]APD). Audiologists often rely on behavioral test methods to diagnose (C)APD, which can be highly subjective. This is problematic in light of relevant literature that has reported a lack of adequate graduate-level preparation related to (C)APD. This is further complicated when exacerbated by the use of inconsistent test procedures from those used to standardize tests of (C)APD, resulting in higher test variability. The consequences of modifying test administration and scoring methods for tests of (C)APD are not currently documented in the literature. PURPOSE: This study aims to examine the effect of varying test administration and scoring procedures from those used to standardize tests of (C)APD on test outcome. RESEARCH DESIGN: This study used a repeated-measures design in which all participants were evaluated in all test conditions. The effects of varying the number of test items administered and the use of repetitions of missed test items on the test outcome score were assessed for the frequency patterns test (FPT), competing sentences test (CST), and the low-pass filtered speech test (LPFST). For the CST only, two scoring methods were used (a strict and a lax criterion) to determine whether or not scoring method affected test outcome. STUDY SAMPLE: Thirty-three native English-speaking adults served as participants. All participants had normal hearing (as defined by thresholds of 25-dB HL or better) at all octave band frequencies from 500 to 4000 Hz, with thresholds of 55-dB HL or better at 8000 Hz. All participants had normal cognitive function as assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Paired samples t-tests were used to evaluate the differences in test outcome when varying the CST scoring method. A 3 × 2 × 2 repeated-measures factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the effects of test, length, and repetitions on outcome score for all three tests of auditory processing ability. Individual 2 × 2 repeated-measures two-way ANOVAs were subsequently conducted for each test to further evaluate interactions. RESULTS: There was no effect of scoring method on the CST outcome. There was a significant main effect of repetition use for the FPT and LPFST, in that test scores were greater when corrected for repetitions. An interaction between test length and repetitions was found for the LPFST only, such that there was a greater effect of repetition use when a shorter test was administered compared with a longer test. CONCLUSIONS: Test outcome may be affected when test administration procedures are varied from those used to standardize the test, lending itself to the broader possibility that the overall diagnosis of (C)APD may be subsequently affected.

Factors affecting the Mandarin dichotic digits test.

Objective: Data with regard to the Mandarin dichotic digits test (DDT) are limited, with conflicting results reported between the Mandarin and English DDTs. The current study examined factors that might affect the performance in the Mandarin DDT. Design: The digits were arranged in 3 sets of 20 dichotic pairs; each set comprised 2, 3 or 4 digits in a pair. Study sample: Forty-one young, native Mandarin speakers with normal hearing were tested; 30 of them were right-handed and 11 left-handed. Six participants repeated the test. Results: The prevalence of ceiling effect in recognition score decreased systematically as the digit-pair length increased. At digit sets of 3-pair and 4-pair, the right-handed group showed a significant higher recognition score at right ear than left ear, while the left-handed group reversed the performance. The score difference between ears is significantly different between the right- and left-handed groups. The retest of the Mandarin DDT was reliable. Conclusions: For the right-handed group, a right-ear advantage can exist in the Mandarin DDT at a longer digit-pair length, similar to what was reported in the English DDT. Moreover, for the left-handed group, the attended right hemisphere in processing the tonal digits can result in a left-ear advantage.

Auditory semantic priming and the dichotic right ear advantage.

The current study presents two experiments that aimed to explore the effects of auditory semantic priming on the dichotic right ear advantage. In Experiment 1, a classic fused dichotic words task was modified with the addition of auditory associative primes with three levels of relatedness (right, left, or neither ear). In Experiment 2, a new dichotic listening task was developed based on a binaural task used in a published auditory priming study. In both experiments, we expected that priming would produce a large right ear advantage when related to the right ear target but that the magnitude of this advantage would decrease for left ear related targets. Although evidence of priming (faster responses for related than unrelated primes) was found in both experiments, only Experiment 2 confirmed our prediction of an ear by prime relatedness interaction. Results are interpreted in the context of models concerned with the role of each cerebral hemisphere in semantic processing as well as models of perceptual asymmetries.

Clinical feasibility of auditory processing tests in Japanese older adults: a pilot study.

Background: Difficulty in listening comprehension is a major audiological complaint of older adults. Behavioural auditory processing tests (APTs) may evaluate it. Aims/Objectives: The aim was to assess the feasibility of administering Japanese APTs to older adults at otolaryngology clinics. Material and Methods: Using computer programs interfaced with an audiometer, APTs (dichotic listening test; fast speech test, FST; gap detection test, GDT; speech in noise test; rapidly alternating speech perception test) were administered to 20 older adults (65-84 years old; mean 75.3 years) and 20 young adults at the 40 dB sensation level. Monosyllable speech perception (MSP) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were evaluated. Results: APT results except for GDT were significantly correlated with MSP. The performance on each APT was worse in older adults than in young adults (p < .01). The older adults with good MSP ≥ 80% (n = 13) or excellent cognitive function (MMSE ≥ 28; n = 11) also did worse on APTs (p < .05). A ceiling effect was noted in the APT data, with FST showing a minimum ceiling effect and reflecting interindividual variations of data. Conclusions and Significance: It is feasible to administer APTs to older adults who visit otolaryngology clinics. Among our Japanese APTs, FST may be suitable for further large-scale clinical studies.

Comparison of Children's Double Dichotic Digits and SCAN-3 Competing Words Free Recall Scores.

BACKGROUND: Practice guidelines do not specify which test recordings are best for assessing dichotic deficit or interaural asymmetry. Dichotic Digits and SCAN-3 Competing Words Free Recall are among the most widely used dichotic tests, but it is not known if the choice of test results in important differences in the identification of children with deficits or if they can be used interchangeably. PURPOSE: To determine whether two commonly used dichotic tests, SCAN-3 Competing Words Free Recall (CW) and Musiek's Dichotic Digits (DD), agree on interaural asymmetry and dichotic deficit in children. RESEARCH DESIGN: CW and DD tests were administered to all participants. Each participant had a single study visit. STUDY SAMPLE: Sixty volunteers aged 7-14 years with normal hearing sensitivity participated in the study. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Hearing sensitivity, CW, and DD performance were measured at a single study visit. We used Spearman's rho (ρ) to assess associations between rank ordering of participants by each test and the kappa statistic (κ) to assess decision consistency between tests. RESULTS: Participants were rank-ordered similarly by CW and DD for the right ear (ρ = 0.58), left ear (ρ = 0.51), and total (ρ = 0.73) scores, but not for interaural asymmetry (ρ =0.18). They agreed no better than chance on direction of ear advantage (κ = 0.01, p = 0.93) and had poor agreement on which children scored below cut-scores (κ = 0.22, p < 0.01). DD identified significantly more participants with deficits (n = 18) than CW (n = 3) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Although children with high scores on one test tend to have high scores on the other, CW and DD do not agree on ear advantage or the presence of deficit. They are not interchangeable for clinical use. Additional research is needed to determine whether either is appropriate for identifying children who would benefit from treatment for dichotic listening deficits.

Computer-based central auditory processing screening for school-age children (audBility): an initial investigation. / Programa online de triagem do processamento auditivo central em escolares (audBility): investigação inicial.

PURPOSE: To study an initial version of a new computer-based program for auditory processing screening of school-age children: "audBility." Specifically, the study aimed to analyze performance in individual tasks, level of difficulty per age group, administration time and data management and propose adjustments for a final version to be validated in future research, based on the administration of "audBility" on children with good school performance. METHODS: Forty-three school-age children with good school performance were selected. The program assesses hearing skills related to sound localization, competitive dichotic listening, binaural integration, auditory figure-ground, auditory closure, temporal resolution and temporal ordering, as well as a self-perception questionnaire answered by the children. RESULTS: The mean score obtained in the questionnaire was 44.75 ± 6.3. Based on the analysis of performance in the individual tasks, improvements were made in the auditory closure and temporal resolution tests and also the research protocol was reduced and defined to adjust to administration time. It was identified a necessity of two separate modules: one for the age groups of 6 to 8 and other for 9 to 12 years, beyond the inclusion of two new versions of the questionnaire that can be answered by teachers and/or parents. CONCLUSION: The development of audBility is an advance in the area of central auditory processing screening in school-age children. New researches for the validation of audBility are underway, with an increased sample and comparison with the diagnostic battery. The initial results enabled the development of the final version of the protocol to be used in the validation study.

OBJETIVO: estudar a versão inicial de um novo programa online de triagem do processamento auditivo em escolares: "audBility". A partir da aplicação em crianças com bom desempenho escolar, a pesquisa teve como objetivo específico analisar o desempenho em cada tarefa, nível de dificuldade por faixa etária, tempo de aplicação, gerenciamento dos dados e propor ajustes e melhorias para a versão final, a qual posteriormente deverá ser validada em pesquisas futuras. MÉTODO: participaram 43 escolares com idades entre 8 e 11 anos e bom desempenho escolar. O programa avalia as habilidades auditivas de localização sonora, escuta dicótica competitiva (dígitos e dissílabos), integração binaural, figura-fundo, fechamento auditivo, resolução e ordenação temporal, além de um questionário de autopercepção direcionado aos escolares, baseado no instrumento "Scale of Auditory Behaviors .". RESULTADOS: o escore médio obtido no questionário foi de 44,75 ± 6,3 pontos. A partir do desempenho em cada atividade, foram realizadas melhorias no teste de fechamento auditivo e temporais; redução e definição do protocolo de pesquisa para adequar o tempo de aplicação. Observou-se a necessidade de dois módulos, divididos para crianças na faixa etária de 6 a 8 anos e de 9 a 12 anos, e o acréscimo de duas versões do questionário, direcionados para os pais e professores. CONCLUSÃO: o desenvolvimento do audBility é um avanço na área do processamento auditivo e triagem escolar. A validação do audBility está sendo realizada com o aumento da amostra e comparação com a bateria diagnóstica. Os resultados iniciais possibilitaram o desenvolvimento da versão final do protocolo a ser utilizado no estudo de validação.