Development and evaluation of the Digit Triplet Test in Swahili language

Background: The development of a Digit Triplet Test in the Swahili language is an essential step towards providing accurate hearing assessment for Swahili-speaking populations. Objectives: This study aimed to develop a Digit Triplet Test in Swahili through a two-part procedure consisting of an opti...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bjørn G. Rosendahl, Tron V. Tronstad, Jon Øygarden
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2025-02-01
Series:South African Journal of Communication Disorders
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Online Access:https://sajcd.org.za/index.php/sajcd/article/view/1090
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Summary:Background: The development of a Digit Triplet Test in the Swahili language is an essential step towards providing accurate hearing assessment for Swahili-speaking populations. Objectives: This study aimed to develop a Digit Triplet Test in Swahili through a two-part procedure consisting of an optimisation phase and an evaluation phase using normal hearing participants. Method: A total of 34 subjects participated in the study. During the optimisation phase, a psychometric intelligibility function was determined for each recorded digit, allowing for volume adjustments to standardise the threshold across all digits. This resulted in a lower threshold and a steeper psychometric function for both the triplets and the test lists. Using the optimised speech material, four test lists were created, each containing 27 triplets composed of digits between 1 and 9. The finalised material was then evaluated. Results: In the final version, the mean Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) for the participants was −8.9 ± 0.6 dB Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), and the mean slope was 24.7 ± 3.5%/dB using triplet scoring. Conclusion: The psychometric function for normal listeners shows a steep slope with little variation between subjects and across test lists. Contribution: The test results are comparable to those of Digit Triplet Tests developed in other languages, indicating the effectiveness and reliability of the Swahili Digit Triplet Test for hearing assessments.
ISSN:0379-8046
2225-4765