Abstract
Dichotic listening deficit (DLD) is a common sign in children showing learning problem and is identified during auditory processing assessment. A dichotic listening training program was developed in which the weak ear lags behind the strong ear in time and has certain practices for switching attention between the ears and auditory memory. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment program on dichotic performance of primary school children showing DLD. A pre/post clinical trial without control study. Twenty-five primary school children, aged 7 to 12 years (mean = 9.3 years), showing DLD. Several primary schools referred the children with learning difficulty to us. We defined learning difficulty as a score of 2 and lower on a five-point scale in at least two primary school courses in the current semester. The children with DLD participated in listening practices three times a week for 10 weeks, each session lasting for 30 minutes. The practices started with one pair of dichotic digits and ended in practice with sentences. The weak ear lag varied from 100 to 1,000 milliseconds. In the last stage of the practices, the precued and postcued directed response aimed at strengthening auditory memory and switching attention between the ears. The results obtained by the tests of dichotic digits, competing words, and competing sentences before and after the intervention were compared using paired t-test. Hedges's g was calculated as the effect size. Comparison of the results of pretraining and those of posttraining revealed that the average dominant ear (DE) and nondominant ear (NDE) scores in dichotic listening tests improved significantly with medium-to-large effect sizes. It was also found that the mean change in the NDE score of the children was significantly greater than that of the DE score for all the tests. Dichotic interaural time difference training that employed dichotic lag phenomenon followed by directed response practices significantly improved the DE and the NDE scores of the schoolchildren with DLD.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.