Benchmarks for the Dichotic Sentence Identification test in Brazilian Portuguese for ear and age

Age-Related Listening Performance Changes Across Adulthood

OBJECTIVES

This study compares auditory processing performance across different decades of adulthood, including young adults and middle-aged individuals with normal hearing and no spontaneous auditory complaints.

DESIGN

We assessed 80 participants with normal hearing, at least 10 years of education, and normal global cognition. The participants completed various auditory tests, including speech-in-noise, dichotic digits, duration, pitch pattern sequence, gap in noise, and masking level difference. In addition, we conducted working memory assessments and administered a questionnaire on self-perceived hearing difficulties.

RESULTS

Our findings revealed significant differences in auditory test performance across different age groups, except for the masking level difference. The youngest group outperformed all other age groups in the speech-in-noise test, while differences in dichotic listening and temporal resolution emerged from the age of 40 and in temporal ordering from the age of 50. Moreover, higher education levels and better working memory test scores were associated with better auditory performance as individuals aged. However, the influence of these factors varied across different auditory tests. It is interesting that we observed increased self-reported hearing difficulties with age, even in participants without spontaneous auditory complaints.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study highlights significant variations in auditory test performance, with noticeable changes occurring from age 30 and becoming more pronounced from age 40 onward. As individuals grow older, they tend to perceive more hearing difficulties. Furthermore, the impact of age on auditory processing performance is influenced by factors such as education and working memory.

Development and Evaluation of the Italian Version of the Dichotic Digit Test: Insights from 39 Normal-Hearing Children Aged 11 to 13 years

BACKGROUND The dichotic digit test (DDT) is one of the tests for the behavioral assessment of central auditory processing. Dichotic listening tests are sensitive ways of assessing cortical structures, the corpus callossum, and binaural integration mechanisms, showing strong correlations with learning difficulties. The DDT is presently available in a number of languages, each appropriate for the subject's native language. However, there is presently no test in the Italian language. The goal of this study was to develop an Italian version of the one-pair dichotic digit test (DDT-IT) and analyze results in 39 normal-hearing Italian children 11 to 13 years old. We used 2 conditions of presentation: free recall and directed attention (left or right ear), and looked at possible effects of sex and ear side. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study involved 3 steps: creation of the stimuli, checking their quality with Italian speakers, and assessment of the DDT-IT in our subject pool. The study involved 39 children (26 girls and 13 boys), aged 11-13 years. All participants underwent basic audiological assessment, auditory brainstem response, and then DDT-IT. RESULTS Results under free recall and directed attention conditions were similar for right and left ears, and there were no sex or age effects. CONCLUSIONS The Italian version of DDT (DDT-IT) has been developed and its performance on 39 normal-hearing Italian children was assessed. We found there were no age or sex effects for either the free recall condition or the directed attention condition.

Dichotic Sentences Test Performance of Adults with communication complaints

PURPOSE

To analyze the performance of normal-hearing adults with communication complaints in the Dichotic Sentences Test.

METHODS

We selected from the database 15 normal-hearing participants with normal results in the Digits Dichotic Test, aged between 19 and 44 years, right-handed, who reported communicative complaints. The Dichotic Sentences Test was applied using two protocols consisting of four different combinations of lists called sequences 1 and 2, in the following order: training, divided attention step, right and left directed attention steps.

RESULTS

In the first application sequence, the average performance in the divided attention step was 84.7% for the right ear and 60.67% for the left, with statistical difference between ears. The asymmetry between ears varied from -50% to 60%. In the directed attention step, the average performance was 99.33% for the right ear and 98% for the left, with no statistical difference. In the second application sequence, there was a tendency for better results, more pronounced for the left ear, with no statistical significance, with the performance variation and asymmetry between ears remaining high. In the comparison between the sequences, in the divided attention step, it was found that, for the right ear, 40% of the individuals did not vary, 33% performed worse, and 26.7% performed better; for the left ear, 6.6% did not vary, 20% performed worse, and 73.33% performed better. There was result stability in the directed attention step.

CONCLUSION

The normal-hearing adults with communication complaints presented a heterogeneous profile, especially in the divided attention step, with a marked difference between ears and response variability.

Dichotic sentence identification test in Portuguese: a study in young adults

Introduction

Among the currently-applied auditory processing tests, dichotic listening tests have been widely used, since they allow investigating the hemispheric and inter-hemispheric function and their respective skills to process the received auditory information.

Objective

To obtain normality reference measures with the new dichotic sentence identification test in right-handed adults with normal hearing.

Methods

Quantitative, observational, cross-sectional study. 72 subjects were assessed, aged 19–44 years, right-handed, with normal hearing, without hearing complaints. The dichotic sentence identification test consists of different lists of sentences, which were combined two by two and presented at the same time, using earphones in both ears, at 50 dB Sensation Level. The test was applied in four stages: training of the 3 stages, free attention, right and left directed attention, thus evaluating different auditory skills.

Results

In the free attention task, the average percentage of correct answers in the right ear was 93.59% and in the left ear 86.06%, with a statistically significant difference between the ears, with an advantage for the right ear. In the directed attention task, the average percentage of correct answers was 99.37% in the right ear and 98.8% in the left ear, with no statistical difference between the ears.

Conclusion

It is suggested, as a normality reference for the stage of free attention, 90%–100% for correct answers for the right ear and for the left ear, from 80% to 100%. When there is asymmetry between the ears, differences of up to 20% are expected, with an advantage for the right ear For the directed attention stage, the expected normality reference values ​​are 100% for the right ear and for the left ear, with no asymmetry between the ears; however, if it occurs, a difference of 10% is expected between the ears, with an advantage for the right ear.

Variability of the dichotic sentence test in the test and retest of normal hearing adults

PURPOSE

to investigate the variability of the Dichotic Sentence Test through the test and retest in normal-hearing adults.

METHOD

We evaluated thirty-six individuals aged 19 to 44 years old, right-handed and with normal hearing thresholds. We performed the basic audiological evaluation and then we applied the Dichotic Digit Test and Dichotic Sentence Test. The test and retest had two sessions, with an interval from 30 to 40 days, in the same shift.

RESULTS

In the integration task, there was an advantage of the right ear in both evaluation sessions. There was no significant difference between the measures obtained in the right ear in the two evaluation sessions, while in the left ear, we found a significant difference. In the analysis of the differences in ears between the test and the retest, we found that 64% of the individuals kept the same result in the right ear, while in the left one, only 36% of the individuals kept the same result in both stages and 44% showed a 10% difference between the two evaluations. We observed moderate positive correlation for both the right ear (r=0.420) and the left ear (r=0.550), with a tendency to improve retest scores. In the separation task, there was a small variability only in the left ear, also with improved retest scores.

CONCLUSION

There was a significant difference between the measures obtained in the test and retest only in the integration task in the left ear, but there was a moderate positive correlation between the measures obtained in the two evaluation sessions, showing a tendency to improve scores in the second evaluation session.

A influência da idade, escolaridade e gênero na ocorrência de pausas do teste DSI

RESUMO Objetivo Avaliar a influência das variáveis idade, escolaridade e gênero na ocorrência de pausas após o tempo padrão no teste de identificação de sentenças dicóticas. Método A amostra foi constituída por 200 indivíduos destros distribuídos em quatro grupos segundo a faixa etária: grupo I - 13 a 19 anos de idade, grupo II - 20 a 29 anos de idade, grupo III - 30 a 39 anos de idade e o grupo IV - 40 a 49 anos de idade. Cada grupo continha 50 sujeitos (25 homens e 25 mulheres) pareados por escolaridade. Foram adotados os seguintes critérios de elegibilidade: língua materna português brasileiro, normouvinte, leitura fluente independentemente do grau de escolaridade. O teste de identificação de sentenças dicóticas foi aplicado nas etapas de integração binaural e escuta direcionada e a necessidade de pausas no teste após o tempo padrão foi anotada. Foram realizadas estatísticas descritivas e inferenciais. Resultados Para as etapas de integração binaural, houve associação positiva entre idade e ocorrência de pausas. A variável escolaridade apresentou associação negativa com a ocorrência de pausas em todas as etapas do teste. A variável gênero não apresentou nenhuma associação com a ocorrência de pausa em nenhuma das etapas do teste. Conclusão Com o aumento da idade, há um aumento na incidência de pausas na etapa de integração binaural do teste. Quanto mais anos de estudo menor a chance de o indivíduo necessitar de pausas para realizar o teste em todas as etapas de apresentação. A variável gênero não influenciou na ocorrência de pausas.