Comparison Between Persian Dynamic Spatial Quick Speech in Noise Test and Persian Hearing in Noise Test in Adults with Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Abstract
Background and Aim: Speech perception is severely impaired by sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and background noise. This study compared two newly developed Persian speech-in-noise tests, the Persian dynamic spatial quick speech in noise (P-DSQSIN) test and the Persian hearing in noise test (P-HINT), to evaluate the clinical utility of both in adults with SNHL.
Methods: Fifty subjects with moderate to moderately severe SNHL (aged 18–50) and twenty-five normal hearing (NH) subjects (aged 18–25) participated. They were assessed using both the P-DSQSIN and P-HINT. Additionally, the Persian spatial hearing questionnaire (P-SHQ) and the Persian speech, spatial and qualities of hearing scale (P-SSQ) were used to correlate objective test results with subjective perceptions of speech difficulties in noise.
Results: Significant differences (p<0.05) were found between the two groups across tests and questionnaires. The P-DSQSIN test demonstrated several advantages over P-HINT concerning clinical use, including setup complexity, ease of administration, and scoring. The results of the two tests showed a moderate positive correlation (r=0.693, p<0.001). In the SNHL group, the results revealed moderate significant positive correlations between the P-DSQSIN SNR loss and P-HINT SNR with the P-SHQ (r = 0.538, p < 0.001 and r=0.427, p =0.007) and P-SSQ questionnaire scores (r = 0.647, p < 0.001 and r = 0.348, p = 0.015).
Conclusion: Both tests assess the listener’s ability to hear in background noise. However, the P-DSQSIN test is a more sensitive measure of speech perception in noise than the P-HINT in subjects with SNHL.
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