Development and evaluation of the Digit Triplet Test in Swahili language.
Bjørn G Rosendahl, Tron V Tronstad, Jon Øygarden
PMID 40035120WHAT IT FOUND
The Swahili Digit Triplet Test yields a speech recognition threshold of −8.9 dB SNR in normal-hearing adults.
It is not yet validated for people with hearing loss, so clinicians should not use it to diagnose hearing impairment.
Key findings
01The mean speech recognition threshold for the Swahili Digit Triplet Test in normal-hearing adults was −8.9 ± 0.6 dB SNR with a steep slope of 24.7 ± 3.5%/dB.
02There was no statistically significant difference in thresholds between the four test lists, indicating they are equivalent.
03The test was developed and evaluated only in participants with normal hearing, so its diagnostic accuracy for hearing loss is not yet established.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study included only adults with normal hearing, so the test's ability to detect hearing loss is unknown. The normative data are based on 23 participants, which is slightly below the ISO recommendation of 25 for reference curves. The psychometric model did not account for lapses of attention or chance guessing. The test was evaluated using TDH-39 headphones; results may differ if used with telephone lines or consumer headphones, as some Swahili digits have high-frequency spectral content.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the Research Council of Norway. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use the Swahili Digit Triplet Test to diagnose hearing loss. The normative data provided are for people with normal hearing only. A patient scoring worse than −8.9 dB SNR cannot be assumed to have hearing impairment until the test is validated in a hearing-impaired population.