The Efficiency of the Kannada Digit Triplet Test to Identify Older Adults with Mild-to-Moderate Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Hearing loss, especially age-related, affects speech perception and quality of life. Despite its prevalence, many individuals remain undiagnosed due to low awareness and limited access to screening tools. The Digit Triplet Test (DTT) is a proven speech-in-noise screening tool adapted into many languages. In India, the Kannada DTT was developed to address the need for a regional screening method. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Kannada DTT to identify older adults with hearing loss. To determine the sensitivity and specificity of the Kannada DTT in identifying older adults with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). A total of 125 native Kannada-speaking participants aged 50 to 84 years were divided into 2 groups: 57 with normal hearing and 68 with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Pure tone audiometry and speech identification scores were recorded. Participants underwent the Kannada DTT monaurally in both ears using an adaptive protocol. The DTT scores were significantly poorer in the hearing loss group. A moderate positive correlation (r ≈ 0.68) was observed between pure tone average and DTT score. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that a DTT cutoff score of −11.05 dB provided the best classification accuracy, with sensitivity and specificity of 79.4% and 82.5% for the right ear, and 83.8% and 86% for the left ear, respectively. The Kannada DTT demonstrates good sensitivity and specificity in identifying older adults with mild-to-moderate SNHL and can be considered a reliable screening tool for early detection.