Development of dichotic digit test in Tulu

Abstract

Purpose of the study: Behavioral tests are widely used due to their ease of accessibility, simple instrumentation, less variability, feasibility for interpretation. These behavioral tests are useful clinical tools even for the evaluation of auditory processing skills. The use of these tests in regional languages like Tulu will make the subjects comfortable. Tulu is spoken Tulu is spoken as mother tongue by over 2 million people in India which demands the need of development of test in Tulu. Method: The study was done in two phases. In the phase one of study development of material was done which included two lists (List A and List B - each containing 20 digit pairs). In Phase two of study the recorded material was administered on normal population. 66 native Tulu speaking adults of age range of 18 to 55 yrs consented and participated in the study. These adults had no associated sensory motor deficits or history of middle ear effusion and audiological evaluation showing PTA≤ 15dBHL; SIS > 90%. Descriptive statistics was used to compile mean and standard deviation and Paired sample t test was used to check the statistical significance between ears. Results: The present study revealed, significant difference between right ear and left ear, indicating of greater right ear advantage in Tulu speakers. Conclusion: Language plays an important role in performance of behavioral tests used, even in central auditory test battery, which led to development of test in Tulu. The scores obtained from this test from this test can be utilized in demarcating the normal population from peripheral loss, CAPD, cortical / brainstem lesions and dyslexic groups, in Tulu speaking population.