Dichotic listening tests in the assessment of auditory processing disorders

Abstract

In the clinical audiological application of dichotic listening tests to assess interaural asymmetry, does mode of administration influence results and their interpretation? This paper reviews the various ways in which dichotic listening tests have been administered, considers the possible extra-auditory confounds that may influence each one, then presents data on 172 elderly persons to whom the Dichotic Sentence Identification (DSI) Test was administered in both divided and directed-attention modes. There were three outcome patterns. In 19% of the total cohort, DSI scores were within normal limits on both ears under both modes of administration (Pattern I). In 58% of participants the DSI score was abnormal on one ear (almost always the left ear) in the divided-attention mode but no abnormality on either ear in the directed attention mode (Pattern II). In 23% of the cohort there was an equivalent unilateral deficit under both modes of administration (Pattern III). Pattern II suggests a primarily cognitive problem, while pattern III suggests a central auditory structural problem. Results are discussed in relation to audiological applications of dichotic listening tests.

• aging
• dichotic
• auditory tests
• auditory processing disorder
• divided attention
• directed attention