Dichotic listening tests in students with learning disabilities

Auditory processing disorder is a clinical entity that may be associated with several neuropathological disorders - learning disabilities among them. AIM: to characterize and compare the performance of students with and without learning disabilities in speech tests with and without background noise, dichotic listening tests, alternating dissyllable test. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 40 students of both genders, ranging from 8 to 12 years of age participated in this study. They were divided in two groups: GI – 20 students with learning disabilities and GII – 20 students with good academic performance matched according to gender, age and education with GI. The evaluation consisted of basic audiological evaluation and applying dichotic listening tests, alternating disyllable test and speech test in noise. STUDY DESIGN: this is a cross-sectional study with a historical cohort. RESULTS: the students of GI presented inferior performance compared to Group II (GII), both on dichotic listening tests and on alternating disyllable tests, and performance with no statistically significant difference on the speech in noise test. CONCLUSION: The evidence found suggests that the group of children with learning disabilities shows inferior performance compared to the group without problems, reflecting difficulties on the processing of auditory information.