Melodic Pattern Test of Temporal Processing: An Analysis of Different Response

Introduction: Among the auditory temporal processing skills has the temporal ordering of auditory signals that is essential for human communication. It is prerequisite for hearing system define the sound duration, the interval between them and the sequence they occur. These skills are essential for speech processing.

Objective: To assess the level of difficulty for different response in the temporal ordering of Melodic pattern test.

Methods: This is a descriptive, quantitative, and transversal study. The sample was composed of 30 subjects with normal hearing and no complaints about auditory processing, aged between 17 and 38 years, average 29 years. This study were submitted to temporal ordering test with musical tone (flute), called Melodic duration pattern test and Melodic frequency pattern test (Taborga,1997), applied under three modalities of response (verbal, humming, motor), performed on the same date. For this, the subject was asked first to recognize the verbally stimuli, by following characterizing stimuli in an imitative pattern, and finally recognize the stimuli with manual responses. This work is part of Biggest-Project developed into a Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. After conclusion of each test was presented a visual analog scale for the subject to identify the difficulty of each modality.

Results: In the melodic duration test 74% of the subjects reported verbal modality was easiest, 17% reported motor modality and 9% reported humming modality. In melodic frequency test, 67% of the subjects-related verbal modality was easiest, 33% related motor modality and no one related humming modality.

Conclusion: The subjects related verbal modality was easiest type of response. Therefore, is necessary the audiologist recognize the benefits of selecting each modality response of ordering temporal tests, considering individual conditions and optimizing the outcome of the assessment.