LiSN-S TEST: Database Development in Portuguese and normality criteria for schoolchildren aged 6 to 11 years.

Abstract

This is a research project to be carried out in partnership with the Faculty of Medical Sciences / Department of Human Development and Rehabilitation and the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering / Department of Communications, both of UNICAMP, with the collaboration of Prof. Dr. Harvey Dillon of Macquarie - Australia University and director of NAL (National Acoustic Laboratories - Australia). The Listening in Spatialized Noise - Sentences - LISN-S is a binaural interaction test, applied by an special computer software, via earphone, that produces a three-dimensional virtual auditory environment, in order to evaluate the spatial processing in individual with complaints related to the TPAC. The purpose of this study will be to develop the database for LINS-S software, including baseline normality criteria for the age group of 6 to 11 years in the Portuguese language. In addition to that, we will be analyzing the results obtained in normal children in the test and retest in children with history of otitis media. The project will be developed in four stages. The first step will be to produce the speech material for the Portuguese-language database using the LiSN-S software. The second step will consist of an experiment that will determine the relative intelligibility of the sentences to make adjustments in the recording and obtain equivalence of intelligibility between them. In the third part, from the Portuguese speech material developed previously for the LiSN-S software, another experiment will be developed to determine normality criteria for each age group, and, eventually, in the fourth part, the elaborated speech material will be studied in children with otitis media. The project will be submitted to the Research Ethics Committee of Unicamp. It is hoped that the results obtained in this research may provide support for understanding the functioning of central auditory nervous system structures involved in the binaural integration tasks, from the cochlear nucleus to the auditory cortex. Besides that, we hope to reveal the importance of studying the spatial processing in children with PTSD, especially with complaints related to hearing difficulties in a noisy environment. The main goal is to contribute to the diagnosis and help planning rehabilitation in a more complete and efficient way. It is also hoped that this innovative research provide subsidies for future researches. (AU)