Performance of children with mild or moderate sensory hearing loss on central auditory tests

Hearing is fundamental to the development of successful language skills. Deficits in hearing acuity and auditory processing (AP) can profoundly obstruct effective communication. Our study aimed to evaluate the performance of children with mild and moderate sensory hearing loss (HL) on central AP tests. The study included 50 children: 10 children with normal hearing who were used as controls; 20 children with mild sensory HL; and 20 children with moderate sensory HL. Both male and female children were equally represented. All children underwent otoscopic examination, pure tone audiometry, tympanometry, and acoustic reflex measurements. Questionnaires on central AP disorders, dyslexia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were answered by the parents. Screening tests for AP abilities [pitch pattern sequence test, speech perception in noise (SPIN) right SPIN, left SPIN, dichotic digit test] were conducted. All children were then examined with the full versions of the previous tests in addition to auditory fusion test − revised, masking level difference test, binaural fusion test, competing sentence test, and low pass-filtered test. Arabic-version dyslexia assessment was carried out for those who failed the tests. The study revealed that children with mild and moderate HL who failed the screening tests also failed the full version tests, and when tested by the Arabic-version dyslexia assessment test, dyslexia was found as a comorbid condition.