Abstract
Background Dichotic listening occurs when one attends to different acoustical messages presented
simultaneously to both ears. This is important for understanding speech in compromised
listening situations, such as background noise. Deficits in dichotic listening can
be remediated by participating in auditory training. We present two patients with
binaural integration deficits who underwent dichotic interaural intensity difference
(DIID) training.
Purpose The purpose of this investigation is to demonstrate improvement of dichotic listening
deficits following DIID training in neurological patients seen clinically for hearing
issues.
Research Design This was a case series utilizing a pre- and posttreatment design.
Study Sample This case series utilized two female participants who demonstrated binaural integration
deficits during an auditory processing evaluation.
Intervention The participants underwent a pretraining auditory processing evaluation and functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants then underwent 12, 30-minute DIID
training sessions followed by posttreatment auditory processing evaluations and fMRI.
Data Collection and Analysis Data was collected at the pretreatment appointment and then immediately following
the completion of the training.
Results Each patient demonstrated varying degrees of improvement on the posttreatment assessment.
Case 1 showed significant improvement on the Speech-in-Noise-Revised (SPIN-R) test.
fMRI showed changes in activation patterns following training. Case 2 demonstrated
improved scores on the Dichotic Digits Test and SPIN-R and increased activation of
the calcarine sulcus following training.
Conclusion Dichotic training can be an efficacious treatment for binaural integration deficits
and may show evidence of improving speech understanding in noise. This case series
demonstrates a promising therapy to help patients improve auditory function by improving
dichotic listening skills.
Keywords
auditory processing disorder - Dichotic Digits Test - dichotic listening - auditory
training - dichotic interaural intensity difference training
