Listening in Spatialized Noise – Universal Test (LiSN-U) test-retest reliability study

OBJECTIVE: To assess test-retest reliability of the Listening in Spatialised Noise - Universal test (LiSN-U).

DESIGN: Test-retest reliability study. Participants completed the LiSN-U twice, four to eight weeks apart. Study sample: Test-retest reliability was analysed for 23 adults and 109 children.

RESULTS: ANOVA showed significant group average score improvement on LiSN-U spatially-separated and co-located conditions on retest (by 1.3 and 0.9 dB, respectively), but not on the difference between them (spatial advantage). Critical difference scores for children were -3.6 dB for the spatially-separated condition, -5.8 dB for the co-located condition, and 5.5 dB for spatial advantage. Critical difference scores for adults were -2.0 dB for the spatially-separated condition, -4.9 dB for the co-located condition, and 5.4 dB for spatial advantage. A correlation analysis was run to determine the relationship between test and retest speech reception thresholds. The correlation was r  = 0.63, p  < 0.001 for the spatially-separated condition, r  = 0.50, p  < 0.001 for the co-located condition, and r  = 0.37, p  < 0.001 for the spatial advantage measure.

CONCLUSIONS: The LiSN-U, which is potentially useable for speakers of any language, shows mean test-retest difference and test-retest reliability comparable to other tests that have proven useful in clinical practice.