Comparison Of Pure Tone Air Conduction Thresholds With Regard To Attention Situation In Individuals With Normal Hearing

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the effect of attention on pure tone air conduction hearing thresholds in individuals with normal hearing. A total of 118 people, comprising 92 women and 26 men, aged between 18 and 25 years old, who had normal hearing and studied at Istanbul Medipol University between 2019 and 2020, were included in the study. Participants first underwent a pure tone audiometric test, and then another pure tone audiometric test accompanied by a Stroop Test. A smartphone application called Brain Test – Stroop Effect was used to administer the Stroop Test. In order to determine pure sound hearing thresholds in varying attention situations, firstly, standard pure tone right and left air conduction hearing thresholds were determined. Then, right and left hearing thresholds at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 4000 Hz, and 6000 Hz were determined using the Brain Test – Stroop Effect test, in which visual attention is activated besides auditory attention. The data obtained in both cases were analyzed by comparing them separately for the right and left ears. When the data obtained in both cases were compared, a statistically significant difference was found for the right ear at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, and 4000 Hz (p<0.05), whereas no significant difference was found at 6000 Hz (p>0.05). As for the left ear, a statistically significant difference was found at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 4000 Hz, and 6000 Hz (p<0.05), whereas no significant difference was found at 2000 Hz (p>0.05). In conclusion, it was found that there was a difference in pure tone hearing thresholds in different attention situations when we examined the findings obtained from the study we conducted to investigate our hypothesis that robust test thresholds cannot be determined during pure tone audiometric testing since the attention is not only on the auditory stimulus.

Keywords

• attention
• auditory system
• hearing threshold
• pure tone audiometry
• stroop test

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