Preliminary Concurrent Validity of Abbreviated App-Based Frequency and Duration Pattern Tests in Normal-Hearing...

Background/Objectives: Digital technologies are increasingly used in audiological assessment; however, evidence supporting clinically evaluated mobile tools for temporal auditory processing screening based on Frequency Pattern Test (FPT) and Duration Pattern Test (DPT) paradigms remains limited. This study examined preliminary concurrent validity of digital FPT and DPT implementations in the Evollu Hear A4A mobile application against corresponding measures from the Bateria de Avaliação do Processamento Auditivo para o Português Europeu (BAPA-PE)-Battery for Auditory Processing Assessment in European Portuguese. Methods: Twenty-seven adults with normal hearing (20-58 years) completed app-based and BAPA-PE versions of the DPT and FPT. Ten four-stimulus sequences were administered for each test and format, yielding scores from 0 to 10. Paired scores were compared using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and concurrent validity was examined using Spearman's rank-order correlations. Results: Median DPT scores were 8 for both the app-based (IQR = 3) and BAPA-PE (IQR = 2) measures, while median FPT scores were 9 (IQR = 2) for both formats. No statistically significant differences were observed between app-based and BAPA-PE scores for the DPT (Z = -0.650, p = 0.516) or FPT (Z = -0.408, p = 0.683). Significant positive correlations were found between formats for both the DPT (ρ = 0.665, p < 0.001) and FPT (ρ = 0.614, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The app-based DPT and FPT showed significant positive associations with their corresponding BAPA-PE reference measures, providing preliminary evidence of concurrent validity in adults with normal hearing. Further studies involving broader performance ranges and clinical populations should evaluate reliability, screening cut-offs, sensitivity, and specificity.