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Purpose: The virtual acoustic space identification (VASI) test was designed to assess spatial-hearing acuity by simulating sound location perception in a closed field (under headphones). The utility of this tool in children can be asserted only if the test results are consistent across measurement sessions, which is evaluated in this study using test-retest reliability assessments., Method: The VASI test assessed the spatial abilities of 40 typically developing school-aged children aged 7-13 years ( M age = 10.47 ± 1.83 years, 22 boys, 18 girls). The test consisted of eight virtual location percepts (with 45° separation) produced under headphones (Sennheiser HD 569). Each spatial percept was presented randomly 7 times at 65 dB SPL. Each participant completed the assessment in three measurement sessions (baseline, intrasession, and intersession). The accuracy scores at each location and overall accuracy scores were compared across the sessions., Results: The Shapiro-Wilk test indicated that the VASI data were not normally distributed. Intraclass correlation coefficient analysis revealed excellent test-retest reliability of the overall accuracy scores and moderate-to-high reliability of location-specific scores. This was complimented by the low response variability of the overall and location-specific accuracy scores. The Bland-Altman analysis also indicated minimal bias in VASI accuracy scores across the three sessions., Conclusions: It can be concluded from the results that VASI is a reliable tool for assessing spatial-hearing acuity in school-aged children. The high test-retest reliability and ease of portability make the test highly relevant for classroom setups where early diagnosis and intervention of spatial deficits can play a critical role in determining the academic success of school-going children.

Objectives: Binaural hearing is the interplay of acoustic cues (interaural time differences: ITD, interaural level differences: ILD, and spectral cues) and cognitive abilities (e.g., working memory, attention). The current study investigated the effect of developmental age on auditory binaural resolution and working memory and the association between them (if any) in school-going children., Methods: Fifty-seven normal-hearing school-going children aged 6-15 y were recruited for the study. The participants were divided into three groups: Group 1 (n=17, M age  = 7.1y ± 0.72 y), Group 2 (n = 23; M age  = 10.2y ± 0.8 y), Group 3 (n = 17; M age : 14.1 y ±1.3 y). Group 4, with normal hearing young adults (n = 20; M age  = 21.1 y± 3.2 y), was included for comparing the maturational changes in former groups with adult values. Tests of binaural resolution (ITD and ILD thresholds) and auditory working memory (forward and backward digit span and 2n-back digit) were administered to all the participants., Results: Results indicated a main effect of age on spatial resolution and working memory, with the median of lower age groups (Group 1 & Group 2) being significantly poorer (p < 0.01) than the higher age groups (Group 3 & Group 4). Groups 2, 3, and 4 performed significantly better than Group 1 (p < 0.001) on the forward span and ILD task. Groups 3 and 4 had significantly better ITD (p = 0.04), backward span (p = 0.02), and 2n-back scores than Group 2. A significant correlation between scores on working memory tasks and spatial resolution thresholds was also found. On discriminant function analysis, backward span and ITD emerged as sensitive measures for segregating older groups (Group 3 & Group 4) from younger groups (Group 1 & Group 2)., Conclusions: The present study showed that the ILD thresholds and forward digit span mature by nine years. However, the backward digit span score continued to mature beyond 15 y. This finding can be attributed to the influence of auditory attention (a working memory process) on the binaural resolution, which is reported to mature till late adolescence., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background and Aim: Psychoacoustics includes studying the perceived effects of changes in sound intensity, temporal, and frequency aspects that are critical for speech perception. Psycon is one such software used in studies to assess psychoacoustic abilities. Psycon has the potential for wide clinical applications in psychoacoustic research and relies on Auditory syntaX (AUX), a program designed specifically to handle auditory signals. The current study aimed to determine the test-retest reliability of the Psycon application for differential sensitivity measures of frequency, intensity, duration and silence. Methods: The study included 39 participants with normal hearing sensitivity. Psychoacoustic measures, namely, gap detection threshold, duration discrimination threshold, difference limen of intensity, and difference limen of frequency, were used to assess test-retest reliability. The test-retest reliability of all measures was checked in two separate sessions within one day. Results: The reliability of each measure was measured using Cronbach's alpha. Test-retest reliability of various psychoacoustic tests measured with Psycon ranges from good to excellent. difference limen of frequency had the highest reliability, followed by duration discrimination thresholds, difference limen of intensity, and gap detection thresholds. Conclusion: Psycon appears to be a reliable tool for assessing different psychoacoustic abilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study evaluated the peripheral hearing and central auditory processing abilities in Indian adolescent girls with iron deficiency anemia (IDA). Method: The participants consisted of 75 adolescent girls with IDA, 50 adolescent girls without IDA, and 50 adolescent boys without IDA. Participants underwent a test battery to evaluate auditory processing and peripheral hearing assessment. In this study, central auditory processing abilities were assessed using Speech Perception in Noise test in Kannada (SPIN-K) and quick speech perception in noise tests in Kannada, dichotic consonant--vowel test, gap detection threshold (GDT), and auditory digit sequencing and auditory digit span tests. Results: Results showed that the hearing thresholds at extremely low and high frequencies (250 and 8000 Hz), although within clinically normal limits, were poorer in girls with IDA than in the control groups. Also, girls with IDA performed poorly in SPIN-K of the right ear, GDT, and auditory backward digit span tests. Conclusion: These subtle auditory deficiencies may be attributed to the compromised blood supply to the central auditory nervous system, as observed in the current study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to assess speech recognition in noise using multitalker babble of native and non-native language at two different signal to noise ratios. The speech recognition in noise was assessed on 60 participants (18 to 30 years) with normal hearing sensitivity, having Malayalam and Kannada as their native language. For this purpose, 6 and 10 multitalker babble were generated in Kannada and Malayalam language. Speech recognition was assessed for native listeners of both the languages in the presence of native and non-native multitalker babble. Results showed that the speech recognition in noise was significantly higher for 0 dB signal to noise ratio (SNR) compared to -3 dB SNR for both the languages. Performance of Kannada Listeners was significantly higher in the presence of native (Kannada) babble compared to non-native babble (Malayalam). However, this was not same with the Malayalam listeners wherein they performed equally well with native (Malayalam) as well as non-native babble (Kannada). The results of the present study highlight the importance of using native multitalker babble for Kannada listeners in lieu of non-native babble and, considering the importance of each SNR for estimating speech recognition in noise scores. Further research is needed to assess speech recognition in Malayalam listeners in the presence of other non-native backgrounds of various types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to assess the effect of short-term perceptual training of music on some psycho-acoustical measures. The study was carried out in three phases. In first the phase pre-training evaluation was done which included raga identification and various psycho acoustical tests. Psycho-acoustical tests included measurement of differential limen of frequency and intensity, duration discrimination, gap detection, modulation detection, backward masking and duration pattern test. In the second phase, auditory perceptual training was given for raga identification and in the third phase post- training evaluation was done though same tests as mentioned in pre-training phase. A total of 10 normal hearing adults (7 males, 3 females) in the age range of 18-25 years participated in the study. The results revealed that all the subjects performed significantly better on raga identification after training. However; there was no significant difference in psycho-acoustical measures in pre and post-training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]