Central auditory testing in young Tanzanian children: feasibility and relationship to cognition.

The study used data from the initial visit only, so it cannot show that early central auditory test results predict later cognitive development. Almost no child completed the Gap Detection Test, so the study cannot tell whether that test is useful for young children. Whether a child completed a test was left to trained staff judgment, which may make completion rates less objective. The children were part of a research study and were motivated to complete tasks, so clinic patients may not behave the same way. The cohort was Tanzanian and Kiswahili-speaking, so results may not apply to children in other languages or settings. Cognitive performance was compared within this sample rather than against standard normative cutoffs. The analysis adjusted for hearing using average pure tone thresholds rather than thresholds at each frequency. The study found associations, not effects of treatment, so it cannot say that doing the auditory tests improves cognition or identifies a disorder.

Do not conclude that a child who cannot complete the central auditory tests has cognitive impairment. The study measured children at the initial visit, and inability to complete the battery was common among younger children.