The Persian version of words-in-noise test for young population: development and validation

Background and Aim: different tests have been developed to evaluate reduced ability of speech perception in noise, and the words-in-noise test is one of the easiest ones in terms of speech materials. This study aimed to develop and determine the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the words-in-noise (WIN) test for 7 to 12-year-old children. Methods: This research is a tool-making, non-empirical study including three main stages: first, development of the Persian version of the WIN test (including 2 lists each one designed at each of 7 different signal to noise ratios), second, the assessment of its content validity, and third, its administration on sixty three 7-to 12-year-old normal hearing children (36 boys and 27 girls) with a mean age of 9.32 (SD=1.66) years old, in order to assess the reliability of the test (list equivalency). Participants were selected from the students of primary schools in Tehran. Results: The content validity ratio for each item was above 0.62. List 1 and 2 of the WIN test were highly correlated (p < 0.05). The test-retest correlations were statistically significant for both lists (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the scores of the left and right ears and gender (p > 0.05). The Mean of speech in noise ratio (SNR) 50% for each list was also determined. Conclusion: Based on the study results, it is concluded that the Persian version of the WIN test has acceptable content validity and reliability and can be used in clinical and research studies.