Duration Pattern Test Research Articles

Does hearing aid experience alter un-aided auditory perception?

AbstractObjective: The aim of this study was to assess the ability of hearing aid (HA) experience to improve central auditory skills by making use of auditory plasticity. The aim would be achieved through studying the unaided auditory perception of a time compressed sentence test (TCST), patterning tests (pitch pattern test (PPT), duration pattern test (DPT)), and an auditory fusion test (AFT) in children with and without previous hearing aid usage. Study design: This was a cross-sectional study that included a study group of 19 children with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) having HA experience. Their ages ranged from six to 12 years and were compared to a control group of 27 well-matched children without previous hearing aid experience. Results: The children with SNHL having HA experience showed better scores than their controls in the psycho-physical tests, but this was statistically significant only on the PPT and the AFT at 500 Hz; at 4000Hz. The results were not significant for the...

Central auditory processing impairment in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

In temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) there may be functional abnormalities or structural lesions that can manifest as a central auditory processing disorder, which is defined as a disorder in the recognition, discrimination, ordering, grouping, and localization of sounds, with emphasis on the processing of nonspeech sounds. We performed frequency pattern, duration pattern, and dichotic tests in 28 patients with TLE with normal hearing on pure tone audiometry. The scores on the frequency pattern, duration pattern, and dichotic tests were abnormal in 78.6, 57.1, and 20.6% of patients, respectively, with no significant differences with the laterality of TLE. Patients with hippocampal sclerosis performed significantly worse than patients with normal MRI findings in frequency tests. Longer duration of epilepsy is negatively correlated with both the duration pattern and dichotic tests (P<0.05). Our results suggest that patients with TLE may be at risk for impairment of central auditory processing, which is increased in patients with hippocampal sclerosis or a longer duration of epilepsy.

Avaliação do processamento auditivo temporal em trabalhadores rurais expostos a agrotóxicos organofosforados

To evaluate the auditory temporal processing in workers occupationally exposed to organophosphate pesticides. Cross-sectional study in which 43 rural workers of both genders with bilaterally normal auditory thresholds that were occupationally exposed to organophosphates were assessed. The procedures included the following items: questionnaire regarding personal and professional background, period of exposition to organophosphates, otoscopy, pure-tone audiometry. Auditory temporal processing was tested through: the Frequency Pattern Test, the Duration Pattern Test and the Gaps-In-Noise Test. Performance on the tests were analyzed, as well as differences between left and right ears on the Gaps-In-Noise Test, and education level in all tests. In great part of the subjects, auditory temporal processing performance was below normal standards. There was no difference between ears on the Gaps-In-Noise Test (p=0.33). Additionally, no differences were found on any of the tests according to education level (Gaps-In-Noise: p=0.21 on the right ear, and p=0.053 on the left ear; Frequency Pattern Test: p=0.37; Duration Pattern Test: p=0.84). Temporal resolution and temporal order abilities were altered in individuals occupationally exposed to organophosphate pesticides, even when they showed normal peripheral auditory thresholds.

Avaliação do processamento auditivo central em adolescentes expostos ao mercúrio metálico

central auditory processing and exposure to metallic mercury. to evaluate the performance on tests of central auditory processing in adolescents exposed to metallic mercury. participants were 52 adolescents, of both genders, who presented hearing thresholds within normal limits. The study group (SG) was composed by 21 adolescents who worked on the burning of gold-mercury amalgams, on the re-burning of gold in stores that sell this metal or who lived next to gold mines or gold shops. The control group (CG) was composed by 31 adolescents who had no history of exposure to mercury. Investigation procedures included the application of a clinical, occupational and mercury exposure history questionnaire, basic audiometric assessment as well as central auditory processing tests. Statistical significant differences in the auditory processing tests of non-verbal sound sequence memory test (p = 0,001), frequency pattern test (p = 0,000), duration pattern test (p = 0,000) and SSW test in Portuguese (p = 0,006) were observed between SG and CG. adolescents exposed to metallic mercury presented a lower performance on most of the auditory processing tests when compared to those who had no history of exposure to mercury. The main deficit found in the study was related to difficulty in distinguishing successive brief sounds.

Desempenho de crianças normais em testes temporais auditivos em campo livre

auditory temporal processing. to determine the performance profile of normal hearing children in temporal sequence and order detection and identification tasks in free-field. forty three children with ages raging from 7 to 11 years and 5 months were evaluated in two behavioral tests - frequency patterns test (FPT) and duration patterns test (DPT) - child's version by Auditec. Both tests were applied at 60 dBNA in free-field. Children were requested to provide two types of answers: nonverbal (NV) being murmuring for FPT and manual for DPT, and verbal (V), nomination for TPF and TPD. For both tests (FPT and DPT), ten repetitions of six sequence patterns totalizing 60 stimuli were presented to each child. the performance on FPT with a non-verbal response was significantly better when compared to V response for all of the subjects. Significant performance improvements with age were observed in VFPT, NVDPT and VDPT. The performance on FPT was better than the performance on PDT. The results of this study showed similar performance on temporal sequence and order detection and identification tasks when compared to other studies conducted with Brazilian population in which these tasks were applied with supra-aural earphones. the values obtained for FPT and DPT can be considered the parameter of normal performance for Auditec's child version in free-field for children with ages between 7 to 11 years and 5 month.

Auditory testing profiles of Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease.

To characterize the auditory manifestations of patients diagnosed with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher Disease (PMD), a rare X-linked disorder of myelin classically characterized by nystagmus, spastic quadriparesis, ataxia, and cognitive delay in early childhood or progressive disease in adulthood. A prospective case study of 5 pediatric and 3 adult patients diagnosed with PMD who demonstrate varying degrees of abnormal auditory function. These patients underwent comprehensive audiological evaluations (audiometry, tympanometry, otoacoustic emissions), auditory processing tests (Dichotic Listening, Frequency Pattern Test, Duration Pattern Test), and electrophysiological measures (Auditory Brainstem Response). Abnormal electrophysiological findings with normal cochlear function were found in all test subjects. Further testing completed on adult subjects revealed further central auditory dysfunction via auditory processing tests. All the adult test subjects had abnormal results on auditory processing tests including significant left ear deficits on dichotic digits and poor duration pattern test scores. Auditory processing test results indicated strong right ear advantages for all adult PMD test subjects in Dichotic Digit testing. The degree of audiological central dysfunction findings was more severe in subjects with greater symptoms of the disease. Our findings indicate the need for a full audiological test battery on all patients with Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease and other severe neurological disorders.

Processamento auditivo: comparação entre potenciais evocados auditivos de média latência e testes de padrões temporais

OBJETIVO: verificar a concordância entre os resultados da avaliação do Potencial Evocado Auditivo de Média Latência e testes de padrões temporais. MÉTODOS: foram avaliados 155 sujeitos de ambos os sexos, idade entre sete e 16 anos, com audição periférica normal. Os sujeitos foram submetidos aos testes de Padrão de Frequência e Duração e Potenciais Evocados auditivos de Média Latência. RESULTADOS: os sujeitos foram distribuídos em dois grupos: normal ou alterado para o processamento auditivo. O índice de alteração foi em torno de 30%, exceto para Potencial Evocado Auditivo de Média Latência que foi pouco menor (17,4%). Os padrões de frequência e duração foram concordantes até 12 anos. A partir dos 13 anos, observou-se maior ocorrência de alteração no padrão de frequência que no padrão de duração. Os padrões de frequência e duração (orelhas direita e esquerda) e Potencial Evocado Auditivo de Média Latência não foram concordantes. Para 7 e 8 anos a combinação padrão de frequência e duração normal / Média Latência alterado tem maior ocorrência que a combinação padrão de frequência e duração alterada / Média Latência normal. Nas demais idades, ocorreu o contrário. Não houve diferença estatística entre as faixas etárias quanto à distribuição de normal e alterado no padrão de frequência (orelhas direita e esquerda), nem para o Potencial Evocado Auditivo de Média Latência, com exceção do padrão de duração para o grupo de 9 e 10 anos. CONCLUSÃO: não houve concordância entre os resultados do Potencial Evocado Auditivo de Média Latência e os testes de padrões temporais aplicados.

Temporal Processing Disorder Associated with Styrene Exposure

Little evidence exists on the possible adverse effects of styrene on the central part of the auditory system. The present investigation aimed to study the possible association between styrene exposure and temporal processing abilities. Fifty-nine styrene-exposed subjects and 50 nonexposed control subjects were tested. Pure-tone audiometry (125–8000 Hz) and 3 temporal processing tests (gaps-in-noise, frequency pattern test and duration pattern test) were carried out. Significant differences between groups were found for most of the audiometric thresholds for both ears. ANCOVA analysis showed that styrene-exposed subjects had significantly poorer performances on the frequency and duration pattern tests than nonexposed subjects, when including hearing level and age as covariates. The results of the present research study suggest an association between styrene exposure and central auditory dysfunction characterized by a temporal processing disorder.

Temporal organization skills in cochlear implants recipients

SummaryProcessing acoustic clues from the sounds of speech depends on the proper perception of the frequency and duration of stimuli as a sequence of events. Aim: To assess the capacity for temporal organization in users of multichannel CI. Method: 14 normal hearing individuals formed the control group, matching in age and gender other 14 users of multichannel CI, who made up the study group, and they were assessed and compared as to the Frequency Patterns Test (FPT) and Duration Patterns Test (DPT). Results: CI users had good performance in temporal organization tasks, with mean results of 48.7% in the FPT and 59.6% in the DPT. For the control group, mean performance at the FPT was of 63.4% and in the DPT of 64.6%. We did not see statistically significant difference between the results from the control and study groups. Conclusion: the CI provided favorable performance in the tasks that required temporal organization skill for individuals evaluated in this study.

Auditory Interhemispheric Transfer Deficits, Hearing Difficulties, and Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging Abnormalities in Children With Congenital Aniridia Due to PAX6 Mutations

To assess auditory processing, hearing difficulties, and brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging abnormalities in children with panocular developmental aniridia due to PAX6 mutations. Case-control study. Great Ormond Street Hospital and Institute of Child Health. Eleven case subjects with PAX6 mutations and 11 age-matched and sex-matched healthy control subjects. All subjects completed a structured hearing questionnaire, baseline audiometry, and central auditory tests (dichotic speech tests, frequency and duration pattern tests, and gaps-in-noise test). Case subjects underwent brain MR imaging with volumetry, and the results were compared with those of age-matched and sex-matched healthy control subjects randomly selected from the Radiology and Physics Unit database. Brain MR imaging, central auditory test results, and questionnaire scores. The corpus callosum area was significantly smaller on brain volumetry in the cases compared with the controls. The anterior commissure was small in 7 cases and was normal in 3 cases on visual inspection of brain MR images (conducted in 10 of 11 cases). Audiograms showed no abnormalities in any of the children. Central auditory test results were normal in all the controls and were abnormal in all the cases except for 1 case with a pattern of abnormalities consistent with reduced auditory interhemispheric transfer. The cases had greater difficulty localizing sound and understanding speech in noise than the controls. Despite normal audiograms, children with PAX6 mutations may experience auditory interhemispheric transfer deficits and have difficulty localizing sound and understanding speech in noise. In view of their additional visual difficulties, thorough audiological evaluation of these children is indicated to initiate appropriate management.

Processamento auditivo em indivíduos com epilepsia de lobo temporal

A epilepsia do lobo temporal ocasiona descargas elétricas excessivas onde a via auditiva tem sua estação final. É uma das formas mais comuns e de mais difícil controle da doença. O correto processamento dos estímulos auditivos necessita da integridade anatômica e funcional de todas as estruturas envolvidas na via auditiva. OBJETIVO: Verificar o Processamento Auditivo de pacientes portadores de epilepsia do lobo temporal quanto aos mecanismos de discriminação de sons em seqüência e de padrões tonais, discriminação da direção da fonte sonora e atenção seletiva para sons verbais e não-verbais. MÉTODO: Foram avaliados oito indivíduos com epilepsia do lobo temporal confirmada e com foco restrito a essa região, através dos testes auditivos especiais: Teste de Localização Sonora, Teste de Padrão de Duração, Teste Dicótico de Dígitos e Teste Dicótico Não-Verbal. O seu desempenho foi comparado ao de indivíduos sem alteração neurológica (estudo caso-controle). RESULTADO: Os sujeitos com epilepsia do lobo temporal apresentaram desempenho semelhante aos do grupo controle quanto ao mecanismo de discriminação da direção da fonte sonora e desempenho inferior quanto aos demais mecanismos avaliados. CONCLUSÃO: Indivíduos com epilepsia do lobo temporal apresentaram maior prejuízo no processamento auditivo que os sem danos corticais, de idades semelhantes.

Auditory processing in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

SummaryTemporal epilepsy, one of the most common presentation of this pathology, causes excessive electrical discharges in the area where we have the final station of the auditory pathway. Both the anatomical and functional integrity of the auditory pathway structures are essential for the correct processing of auditory stimuli.Aimto check the Auditory Processing in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy regarding the auditory mechanisms of discrimination from sequential sounds and tone patterns, discrimination of the sound source direction and selective attention to verbal and nonverbal sounds.Methodeight individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy were assessed, after excluding those with non-confirmed diagnosis or with the focus of discharges not limited to this lobe. The evaluation was carried out through special auditory tests: Sound Localization Test, Duration Pattern Test, Digits Dichotic Test and Non-Verbal Dichotic Test. Their performances were compared to the performances of individuals without neurological diseases (case-control study).Resultssimilar performances were observed between patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and the control group regarding the auditory mechanism of sound source direction discrimination. Comparing the other auditory mechanisms assessed, the patients with temporal lobe epilepsy presented worse results.Conclusionindividuals with temporal lobe epilepsy had more deficits in auditory processing than those without cortical damage.

Maturation of outcomes of behavioral and electrophysiologic tests of central auditory function

The human peripheral auditory system is fully developed at birth; however, myelination continues for several years in the higher auditory pathways. The aim of the present study was to assess the maturation course of the frequency and duration pattern tests and the middle latency response (MLR). One hundred and fifty normal participants ranging from 7 to 16 years of age were tested using conventional protocols. Results showed increased performance with increased age on both the behavioral tests up to age 12. However, there was no significance change across this age range for either latency or amplitude measures on the MLR. The MLR showed less variability for older children. High variability was a likely factor for the statistical outcome of the MLR. The data obtained on the frequency and duration pattern tests were applied to the development of age related norms. Learning outcomes: As a result of this experience, the reader will obtain information about (a) the normal development of the auditory system; (b) performance of children on several standard tests of auditory function; and (c) the characteristics of MLRs in the same group of children.

What is the Role of Audition in Literacy?

What is the Role of Audition in Literacy?

Processamento auditivo e audiometria de altas freqüências em escolares de São Paulo

Auditory processing and auditory sensibility to high Frequency sounds. To characterize the localization processes, temporal ordering, hearing patterns and detection of high frequency sounds, looking for possible relations between these factors. 32 hearing fourth grade students, born in city of São Paulo, were submitted to: a simplified evaluation of the auditory processing; duration pattern test; high frequency audiometry. Three (9,4%) individuals presented auditory processing disorder (APD) and in one of them there was the coexistence of lower hearing thresholds in high frequency audiometry. APD associated to an auditory sensibility loss in high frequencies should be further investigated.

Testes de padrão de freqüência e de duração em idosos com sensibilidade auditiva normal

Estudos atuais apontam para o fato que o indivíduo idoso pode apresentar uma desordem do processamento auditivo mesmo sem haver uma lesão estrutural que a explique diretamente. OBJETIVO: Caracterizar o desempenho de idosos com sensibilidade auditiva normal no Teste de Padrão de Freqüência (TPF) e de Padrão de Duração (TPD). FORMA DE ESTUDO: Clínico prospectivo. MÉTODO: A amostra contou com 25 idosos com audição normal e sem história de comprometimentos centrais. Foram realizados os Testes de Padrão de Duração e Teste de Padrão de Freqüência a 50dBNS, sendo solicitada resposta através de nomeação. RESULTADOS: Não foram encontradas diferenças nos dois testes, segundo a variável lado da orelha. A porcentagem média de acertos obtida no Teste de Padrão de Duração foi de 67,5% e no Teste de Padrão de Freqüência foi de 49,2%. A correlação entre os testes TPD e TPF e a idade dos pacientes mostrou-se inversamente proporcional, ou seja, quanto maior a idade pior o desempenho nos testes, sendo que a maior correlação foi encontrada no Teste de Padrão de Duração. CONCLUSÃO: Não foram observadas diferenças segundo a variável lado da orelha e os indivíduos idosos com sensibilidade auditiva normal apresentam uma porcentagem média de acertos de 47,2% no Teste de Padrão de Freqüência de 67,5% no Teste de Padrão Duração.

The performance of South African English first and second adult speakers on a "low linguistically loaded" central auditory processing test protocol

The lack of standardized tests for central auditory processing disorders (CAPD) in South Africa (SA) led to the formation of a SA CAPD Taskforce, and the interim development of a "Low Linguistically Loaded" CAPD test protocol using test recordings from the 'Tonal and Speech Materials for Auditory Perceptual Assessment Disc 2.0'. This study compared the performance of 50 SA English first language child speakers (aged 8 to 12 years of age) on this protocol, with the previously published American normative data of Bellis (1996, 2003). Results with respect to predicted pass criteria as calculated by mean-2SD cutoffs, suggested that the SA speakers performed of a lower level than the American speakers by an average of 5.3% per ear for the two pair dichotic digits test, 1.9 dB for the masking level difference test, 8.8% per ear for the frequency pattern test--humming report, 14.5% per ear for the frequency patterns test--verbal report, and 39.7% per ear for the low pass filtered speech test. Consequently, the Bellis (1996, 2003) data was not considered appropriate for immediate use as normative data in SA. Instead, the preliminary data provided in this study was recommended as interim normative data for SA English first language child speakers until larger scale SA normative data can be obtained.

Comorbid auditory processing disorder in developmental dyslexia.

The primary objective of this study was to investigate the extent of comorbid auditory processing disorder (APD) in a group of adults with developmental dyslexia. An additional objective was to compare performance on auditory tasks to results from standardized tests of reading in an attempt to generate a clinically useful profile of developmental dyslexics with comorbid APD. A group of eleven persons with developmental dyslexia and 14 age- and intelligence-matched controls participated in the study. Behavioral audiograms, 226-Hz tympanograms, and word recognition scores were obtained binaurally from all subjects. Both groups were administered the frequency-pattern test (FPT) and duration-pattern test (DPT) monaurally (30 items per ear) in both the left and right ear. Gap detection results were obtained in both groups (binaural presentation) using narrowband noise centered at 1 kHz in an adaptive two-alternative forced-choice (2-AFC) paradigm. The FPT, DPT, and gap detection results were analyzed for interaural (where applicable), intergroup, and intragroup differences. Correlations between performance on the auditory tasks and the standardized tests of reading were examined. Additive logistic regression models were fit to the data to determine which auditory tests proved to be the best predictors of group membership. The persons with developmental dyslexia as a group performed significantly poorer than controls on both the FPT and DPT. Furthermore, the group differences were significant in both monaural conditions. On the FPT and DPT, five of the eleven participants with dyslexia performed below the widely used clinical criterion for APD of 70% correct in either ear. All five of these participants performed below criterion on the FPT, whereas four of the five additionally performed below 70% on the DPT. The data also were analyzed by fitting a series of stepwise logistic regression models, which indicated that gap detection did not significantly predict group membership, whereas the FPT and DPT were significant predictors. The addition of the FPT score after the DPT did not result in a significant change in the residual deviance. Approximately half of the participants with developmental dyslexia showed clinically significant diminished performance on the FPT and DPT indicative of APD. These results indicate that the percentage of persons with developmental dyslexia and comorbid APD may be substantial enough to warrant serious clinical considerations.

Assessment of auditory processing in 6-year-old language-impaired children: Evaluacion del procesamiento auditivo en niños de 6 años con trastornos del lenguaje

The performance of a group of twenty 6-year-old children with specific language impairment (SLI) on several behavioural auditory tests was compared to that of a group of twenty age-matched control children. The auditory test battery used in this study consisted of the following tests: a speech-in-noise test, a filtered speech test, a binaural fusion test, a frequency pattern test, a duration pattern test, a temporal integration test, an auditory word discrimination test, an auditory synthesis test, an auditory closure test and a number recall test. Our results show that the SLI children obtained scores on almost all tests that were significantly lower than those of the control group. Many of the basic auditory processing measures in our test battery correlated significantly with receptive and language scores, suggesting a (causal) relationship between auditory processing and language proficiency. Results from discriminant function analyses do not warrant deleting one or more tests from the test battery yet (with the exception of the auditory synthesis test and the temporal integration test, for which we did not find significant group effects). At present, we are conducting experiments with older (SLI and control) children and adults to find whether the significant performance deficits of the SLI children are also found in older SLI children, and to determine the influence of maturational effects on these auditory tests.SumarioSe comparó el rendimiento en varias pruebas conductuales auditivas de un grupo de veinte niños de 6 años de edad con deficiencies específicas del lenguaje (SLI), con el de un grupo control de veinte niños con edades similares. La batería de pruebas auditivas utilizada en este estudio consistió en: una prueba de lenguaje en ruido, una prueba de lenguaje filtrado, una prueba de fusión binaural, una prueba de patrones de frecuencia, una prueba de patroncs de duración, una prueba de integración temporal, una prueba de discriminatión auditiva del habla, una prueba de síntesis auditiva, una prueba de cierre auditivo y una prueba de memoria de números. Nuestros resultados muestran que los niños con SLI lograron, en casi todas las pruebas, puntuaciones significativamente más bajas que aquellas del grupo control. Muchas de las medidas básicas de procesamiento auditivo de nuestra batería de pruebas mostraron una correlación significaliva con las puntuaciones de recepción y del lenguaje, sugiriendo una relación causal entre el procesamiento auditivo y la competencia lingüística. Los resultados de los análisis de función discriminatoria no sugieren aún la eliminatión de una o más pruebas de la batería (con la excepción de la prueba de síntesis auditiva y la de integración temporal, para las cuáles no encontramos un cfecto significativo de grupo). Actualmente, estamos conduciendo experimentos con niños mayores (con SLI y en grupo control) y con adultos, para averiguar si las deficiencias significativas de rendimiento en los niños con SLI se encuentran también en niños mayores con SLI, y determinar así la influencia de un efecto de maduración en estas pruebas auditivas.

Maximum Length Sequences-Auditory Brainstem Responses from Children with Auditory Processing Disorders

This study was designed to evaluate maximum length sequences-auditory brainstem responses (MLS-ABR) in children with auditory processing disorders and to compare these results with a normal control group matched for age, intelligence, and gender. Although each waveform was analyzed for the presence of waves I, III, and V, the primary focus was wave V. Although absolute latency measures for wave V were obtained from all subjects, waves I and III were not always identified. Although the results showed latency increases for all waveforms in both groups, the only significant difference noted was an increase in wave V latency for both the left and right ears in the clinical group. These results suggest that the MLS-ABR may be useful in the assessment of auditory processing disorders. Implications for the potential use of the MLS-ABR in management programs are discussed.