OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare the performance of children from different socioeconomic and cultural levels in the auditory tests evaluated by the Standard Duration (PPS) and Dichotic Non-Verbal (DNV). METHODS: Study participants were 51 children, 7 to 10 years of age, who were divided into two groups according to socioeconomic status and culture. Group 1 (G1), corresponding to upper-middle class, and group 2 (G2), corresponding to lower-middle class, consisted of 23 and 28 children respectively. Were performed anamnesis, otoscopy, pure tone audiometry, immittance testing and application of Standard Length (PPS) and Dichotic Non-Verbal (DNV). Were statistically analyzed and compared the percentages of correct responses between the groups in each test to the tasks and whispered named test PPS and directional hearing test DNV. RESULTS: Both the test for PPS and for the DNV in all tasks was statistically significant differences between the performance of children in G1 and G2. The G1 to G2 showed higher scores in both tests. CONCLUSION: Both the skills of selective attention assessed Nonverbal Dichotic test, the skills of pattern recognition frequency, temporal ordering and naming were significantly better in the socioeconomic-cultural medium-high. These results could justify the best academic performance in this group, as these skills are important to the learning process.