Development and validation of the Dichotic Digit Test in the Italian language:

Federica Di Berardino; Marco Gitto; Leonardo Braga; Noemi Motta; Valeria Castelli; Eliana Filipponi; Lorenzo Pignataro; Diego Zanetti

Development and validation of the Dichotic Digit Test in the Italian language

Federica Di Berardino Marco Gitto Leonardo Braga Noemi Motta Valeria Castelli Eliana Filipponi Lorenzo Pignataro Diego Zanetti

1 Audiology Unit, Department of Specialist Surgical Sciences, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy. 2 Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7514-5624

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3485-3074

Biostatistics, Univerisity of Milan Bicocca, Milan, Italy.

https://orcid.org/0009-0006-4405-0028

https://orcid.org/0009-0005-5392-843X

1 Audiology Unit, Department of Specialist Surgical Sciences, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy. 4 U.O.C. Direzione Professioni Sanitarie. Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan (Italy).

https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0359-9158

Audiology Unit, Department of Specialist Surgical Sciences, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy. U.O.C. Direzione Professioni Sanitarie. Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan (Italy)

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4824-8934

Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. ENT Unit, Department of Specialist Surgical Sciences, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1619-5124

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8116-4108

auditory processing disorder dichotic listening tests psychometrics linguistics auditory perception

Abstract

Objective: Binaural integration is assessed by dichotic listening tests, crucial for diagnosing auditory processing disorders. This study aimed to validate the newly developed Italian version of the double Dichotic Digit Test (DDT) by F. Musiek.

Methods: The study involved linguistic to the DDT for Italian, tested in two phases: a pilot with 20 normal hearing adults (English and Italian DDTs) and a main study with 138 children (6-10 years) using the Italian version, assessing test-retest reliability.

Results: Both adults and children showed a Right-Ear Advantage (REA), more pronounced in younger ages. The Italian DDT demonstrated consistent reliability across age groups and genders, indicating effective the adaptation of the Italian version.

Conclusions: The Italian DDT's validation expands the tool's utility in diverse linguistic contexts, underscoring the importance of culturally adapted diagnostic tools in psychological assessments.