Validation of the 'Arabic commands in noise test' and evaluation of the impact of conscientiousness on test performance.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to validate the newly developed speech-in-noise (SiN) hearing test, the Arabic commands in noise test (ACINT) and explore the effect of global personality trait conscientiousness on auditory task performance.

STUDY DESIGN: The SiN test was performed twice on persons with normal hearing (NH) and hearing-impairment (HI). Using the Arabic NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI), individuals with NH were categorized into groups based on their level of conscientiousness.

STUDY SAMPLE: 54 normal hearing individuals and 20 individuals with mild sensorineural hearing loss as identified by pure tone audiometry.

RESULTS: No significant difference in performance was found between participants with different conscientiousness levels (F(1,52)=2.28, p = 0.14). Significant differences in performance were found between NH and HI-impaired participants (F (1,72) =39.7, p < 0.001), with a 4.14 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) increase in test scores for the HI group. The test scores were repeatable across measurements, with >77% of the data within one standard deviation in the Bland-Altman plots.

CONCLUSION: The developed speech test, the ACINT, is a valid repeatable SiN test suitable for further audiological research. Conscientiousness as a global trait was not associated with improved auditory test performance.