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.