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The effect of mild hearing impairment on auditory processing tests.
Karin Neijenhuis1, Hans Tschur, Ad Snik
1University Medical Centre Nijmegen, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, The Netherlands. k.neijenhuis@kno.umcn.nl
Journal of the American Academy of Audiology
|March 20, 2004
Summary
Auditory processing tests are challenging for individuals with sensorineural hearing loss. Even with adjustments, mild hearing loss significantly impacts test results, complicating central auditory processing disorder diagnosis.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Neuroscience
- Speech and Hearing Sciences
Background:
- Assessing central auditory processing in sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is complex.
- Distinguishing peripheral from central auditory deficits presents a significant challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate a Dutch auditory processing test battery in subjects with mild, flat SNHL.
- To determine the efficacy of adjusted presentation levels and PTA corrections on test performance.
Main Methods:
- Administered a six-test auditory processing battery to 24 subjects with mild SNHL and a control group.
- Tests were repeated with adjusted presentation levels for four tests based on speech reception threshold.
- Correlations between test scores and pure-tone average (PTA) were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Subjects with SNHL performed significantly worse on five of six tests compared to normal-hearing individuals, even with adjusted levels.
- PTA-corrected scores for words-in-noise, filtered-speech, and binaural-fusion tests showed significant correlations.
- Dichotic-digit and pattern-recognition tests were notably affected by mild hearing loss.
Conclusions:
- The tested auditory processing battery is not suitable for diagnosing central auditory processing disorders in mild, flat SNHL without modifications.
- Presentation level adjustments and PTA corrections are necessary but may not fully resolve diagnostic challenges.