The digit triplet test as a self-test for hearing screening at the age of school-entry
Sam Denys1, Jan Wouters1, Astrid van Wieringen1
1KU Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, ExpORL, Leuven, Belgium.
Insights
The digit triplet test (DTT) is not suitable for self-administration by most school-entry-aged children. This speech-in-noise screening requires administrator control for reliable results in young children.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Pediatric Hearing Screening
Background:
- Early identification of hearing difficulties in children is crucial for academic success.
- The digit triplet test (DTT) is a speech-in-noise screening tool used to assess hearing ability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the feasibility of the digit triplet test (DTT) as a self-administered screening tool for normal-hearing children aged 5-6 years.
- To compare the DTT self-test performance against an administrator-controlled DTT.
Main Methods:
- Thirty-seven first-grade children participated in the study.
- A test battery included pure-tone screening, DTT speech-in-noise screening (self-test and administrator-controlled), and cognitive assessments.
- Auditory/working memory and attention skills were also evaluated.
Main Results:
- Administrator-controlled DTT yielded a reference speech-reception threshold (SRT) of -9.8 ± 1.6 dB SNR.
- Self-administered DTT resulted in poorer SRTs, with limited test-retest stability in most children.
- Test duration for the self-administered DTT was longer than the administrator-controlled version.
Conclusions:
- The self-administered digit triplet test (DTT) is not suitable for a significant proportion of children at school-entry age.
- Administrator-controlled DTT is recommended for reliable speech-in-noise screening in this age group.
Objective:
The current study aimed to investigate the feasibility of the digit triplet test (DTT) as a self-test in normal-hearing children at school-entry age (5-6 years) compared to an administrator-controlled test.
Design And Study Sample:
Thirty-seven first grade elementary school children took part in this study. Next to a pure-tone screening, the test battery consisted of a DTT speech-in-noise screening (self-test and administrator-controlled assessment), and cognitive tests related to auditory/working memory and attention skills.
Results:
The reference-SRT ± 2SD, obtained with the administrator-controlled DTT, was -9.8 ± 1.6 dB SNR, and could be estimated with a precision of 0.7 dB. The test duration for one ear was about 4.5 min. Self-tests resulted in higher (poorer) SRTs. Only a small proportion of children performed stably across repeated self-test administrations. With about 6 min for one ear, the test duration was rather long. The influence of auditory/working memory and attentional abilities appeared to be limited.
Conclusion:
Our data suggest that a self-administered DTT is not suitable for a large proportion of children at school-entry.
