The first eletrocnic Journal of Otolaryngology in the world
ISSN: 1809-9777
E-ISSN: 1809-4864
1444
Year: 2013 Vol. 17 Num. Suppl. 1 - - (67º)
Section:
THE DICHOTIC DIGITS TEST AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO SCHOLARSHIP AND THEDEGREE OF HEARING LOSS AMONG OLDER ADULTS
Author(s):
Milena Manoel de Azevedo, Alexandre Hundertmarck Lessa, Amanda Dal Piva Gresele, Maristela Julio Costa, Sinéia Neujahr dos Santos
Abstract:
AIM: To describe the Dichotic Digits Test (DDT) results in a group of older adults with hearing loss and relate these scores with their level of education as well as the degree of hearing loss. CASE REPORT: the study was conducted in the Laboratory of Hearing Aids at the Service of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Care at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. Forty-one subjects with mild to moderately severe symmetric hearing loss, aged 60-89 years, were evaluated using the DDT. The total number of correct answers on the DDT was used as a measure of binaural integration. Descriptive analysis was used to relate DDT scores to the subject's level of education and the degree of hearing loss. The results showed average DDT scores of 38.75% among the illiterate; 54.56% among those who had not completed elementary school; 57.05% among those who had completed elementary school; 48.75% among those with a partial high school education; and 58.75% among high school graduates. In relation to the degree of hearing loss, the average DDT score was 60%among those with mild hearing loss; 53.92% among those with moderate hearing loss; and 48.88% among those with moderately severe hearing loss. CONCLUSION: Subjects with a lower level of education and those with more severe hearing loss tended to score lower on the DDT.