Online Arabic and English Digits-in-Noise Tests: Effects of Test Language and At-Home Testing

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Hearing Science
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• The Digits-in-Noise (DIN) test is crucial for hearing research and increasingly for remote hearing screening.
• Browser-based DIN software offers a convenient, app-free solution for remote auditory assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate browser-based DIN software for remote hearing screening.
• To investigate the influence of test language (Arabic vs. English) and environment (lab vs. home) on DIN thresholds and reliability.
• To examine language effects on correlations between DIN and audiometric thresholds.

Main Methods:

• Fifty-two bilingual adults (18-35 years, normal hearing) completed Arabic and English DIN tests in lab and home settings.
• Paired t-tests assessed effects of language and environment on thresholds.
• Intraclass and Pearson's/Spearman's correlations evaluated test-retest reliability and audiometric relationships.

Main Results:

• Arabic DIN thresholds were 0.74 dB higher than English thresholds.
• Home-based testing showed slightly higher thresholds (0.52 dB) than lab-based, though not statistically significant after corrections.
• Test-retest differences were consistently low (< 1.2 dB on average) across languages and environments.

Conclusions:

• Arabic DIN thresholds are slightly higher than English.
• Home-based testing may marginally elevate DIN thresholds; consider this when interpreting data.
• Further research with diverse hearing loss populations is needed to validate DIN for screening and assess its relation to hearing impairment.