Assessing the agreement between auditory processing test results of children with listening difficulties obtained in a clinical setting and in a zoom-based remote environment.

OBJECTIVE

To compare results of auditory processing (AP) tests delivered in clinic versus remotely via shared video conferencing (VC) software (Zoom) in children with listening difficulties.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

STUDY SAMPLE: 39 children aged 6.8-13.1 years with parent/teacher-reported listening difficulties and with normal cognition, hearing, and middle ear function.

RESULTS

Good agreement was found between in-clinic and remote test results for single-channel AP tests assessing temporal patterning (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)=0.81) and diotic listening (ICC = 0.77). However, poor to fair agreement occurred for tests requiring two-channel audio delivery, including the Listening in Spatialised Noise-Sentences test of binaural interaction (ICC = 0.43) and the Dichotic Digits difference Test of binaural integration (ICC = 0.32-0.51), likely due to the technical limitations of current VC software. Overall, remote testing showed greater variability in scores compared to in-clinic.

CONCLUSIONS

While some AP skills could be reliably assessed remotely via VC software, tests requiring complex binaural audio integration were limited by technical factors. Tablet-based assessments or remote operation of clinical software may be more viable alternatives for comprehensive tele-audiology assessment of auditory processing disorder.