The digit triplet test for school-age hearing screening: comparing languages, school grades and scoring methods in a...

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Bilingual school-age populations present unique challenges for hearing screening.
• The Digit Triplet Test (DTT) is a common tool, but its reliability in bilingual contexts requires investigation.
• Accurate hearing screening is crucial for academic success and early intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reliability of bilingual school-age hearing screening using the Digit Triplet Test (DTT) across four school grades.
• To evaluate three methods for calculating referral values to detect hearing loss and minimize false positives.
• To determine the effectiveness of language-specific DTT versions in a French-German bilingual area.

Main Methods:

• A systematic hearing screening involved 3255 children (aged 10-17) in a bilingual French-German region of Belgium.
• French-speaking children received a French DTT; German-speaking children received a German DTT.
• Referral methods were analyzed using audiometric data from 71 children to assess false-positive rates.

Main Results:

• The DTT demonstrated high reliability, stability, and minimal measurement error, with results obtainable in approximately two minutes per ear.
• Language differences in DTT performance were minimal, but grade-specific referral values were necessary.
• A referral method incorporating the lowest signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) substantially reduced false-positive results.

Conclusions:

• Bilingual versions of the Digit Triplet Test are reliable for school-age hearing screening programs.
• The implementation of grade-specific and alternative referral methods is essential for accurate hearing loss detection and minimizing false positives.