Evaluation of the Relationship between Auditory Processing Skills and Academic Achievement in Adolescents Adölesanlarda İşitsel İşleme Becerileri ile Akademik Başarı Arasındaki İlişkinin Değerlendirilmesi

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Yildirim Gökay N., Şahin Kamişli G. İ.

Journal of Uludag University Medical Faculty, cilt.50, sa.2, ss.223-229, 2024 (Scopus, TRDizin)

Özet

We encounter various listening conditions such as noisy, quiet, and multi-source sounds in daily life, especially in school environments. This study investigates whether the dichotic listening and speech-in-noise discrimination skills of adolescents aged 13-18 are associated with their academic performance. A total of 74 volunteers participated in the study and were divided into two groups based on whether they had complaints about understanding speech in noise. The volunteers' dichotic auditory processing skills were assessed with the "Dichotic Sentence Test," and their speech-in-noise discrimination skills were evaluated with the "Auditory Figure Ground Test." The current high-school grade point averages of adolescents and scores from the "Screening Instrument for Targeting Educational Risk" were used to assess academic achievement. SPSS v24 software was used for data analysis, and a type 1 error level of 0,05 was determined. As a result, adolescents with complaints about understanding speech in noise showed statistically significant differences in personal headphone usage durations, grade point averages, auditory processing test scores, and academic scale scores (p < 0,05). Moderate to strong correlations were obtained between academic achievement scale scores and auditory processing scores (p < 0,05 and, r = 0,631, r = 0,571, r = 0,566, r = 0,495). The presence of noise, prolonged loud personal headphone use, and weak auditory processing skills can negatively impact the academic success of adolescents. The current study will help to guide experts in this field and raise awareness about hearing health in adolescents.