A software platform to administer the Canadian Digit Triplet Test

Abstract

Originally designed in Dutch as an automatic self-screening test (Smits et al., IJA 43(1):15–28, 2004), the Digit Triplet Test has been developed in about 15 different languages. Owing to its wide success, and to facilitate the comparison between languages, a working group on multilingual speech testing of the International Collegium of Rehabilitative Audiology (ICRA) has provided recommendations for constructing such tests (Akeroyd et al., IJA 54 Suppl 2:17-22, 2015). The development of the Canadian-English and Canadian-French versions of the Digit Triplet Test includes preparing speech and noise materials and implementing a testing platform. The digits were recorded in both languages by two fluently bilingual adult talkers (1 male, 1 female). The recordings were processed and optimized and a speech-shaped noise signal was developed for each language-talker combination according to the ICRA recommendations and ISO standard on speech audiometry (ISO 8253-3:2012). The present work describes the software interface of the testing platform, the supported features as well as the required hardware components. The test will be deployed in large-scale multi-site longitudinal studies across Canada on aging and neurodegeneration in aging.  In addition, the test may be a useful tool for lab-based research, the audiologic assessment of francophone speakers in minority settings in Canada, and for studies of English or French as a second language.