The influence of noise on verbal auditory temporal ordering ability

PURPOSE: to investigate the relationship between ambient noise levels in classrooms and auditory temporal ordering ability for verbal sounds. METHODS: a cross-sectional descriptive study of a sample of 209 students aged 7‒10 years was conducted. Noise levels were measured in 13 classrooms at 8 Belo Horizonte public schools. The acoustic parameter for this assessement was the equivalent sound pressure level for unoccupied and furnished classrooms according to the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard S12.60. To assess the verbal auditory temporal ordering ability of students, a verbal sequential memory test was given. For statistical analysis, noise was categorized on the basis of the median noise level value and related to the students' achievement in the test. RESULTS: most students showed normal results and no statistical difference was found regarding sex and age. All classrooms had noise levels above the upper limits recommended by international (ANSI S12.60 and Bulletin 93) and national (Brazilian Association of Technical Standards - NBR10152) standards. Significant differences were found when relating the noise with student test performance, with greater alterations in the students belonging to the noisiest rooms. CONCLUSION: ambient classroom noise levels were above those permitted by the standards. Classroom noise was associated with greater difficulties in auditory temporal ordering ability.

研究目的：探究教室环境噪声水平与言语听觉时序排序能力之间的关联。
研究方法：本研究为横断面描述性研究，纳入209名7至10岁的学生作为研究样本。对巴西贝洛奥里藏特市8所公立学校的13间教室开展噪声水平测量，本次评估采用的声学参数为符合美国国家标准学会（American National Standards Institute, ANSI）S12.60标准的空置且布置有家具的教室等效声压级。为评估学生的言语听觉时序排序能力，本研究采用言语序列记忆测试进行测评。统计分析阶段，以噪声水平中位数为界对噪声进行分级，并将分级结果与学生的测试成绩进行关联分析。
研究结果：绝大多数学生的测试结果处于正常范围，性别与年龄因素未体现出统计学差异。所有被测教室的噪声水平均超出国际标准（ANSI S12.60及第93号公告）与国内标准（巴西技术标准协会（Brazilian Association of Technical Standards）NBR10152）所推荐的限值上限。将噪声水平与学生测试表现进行关联分析后发现存在显著统计学差异，就读于噪声水平最高教室的学生，其听觉时序排序能力受损程度更为显著。
研究结论：教室环境噪声水平超出了相关标准允许的限值。教室噪声与学生的听觉时序排序能力障碍存在显著关联。