Assessing Speech Perception in Children With Hearing Loss: What Conventional Clinical Tools May Miss

作者：Hillock Dunn Andrea; Taylor Crystal; Buss Emily; Leibold Lori J^*

来源：Ear and Hearing, 2015, 36(2): E57-E60.

• Children
• Hearing loss
• Informational masking
• Speech perception

Objectives: This study tested the hypothesis that word recognition in a complex, two-talker masker is more closely related to real-world speech perception for children with hearing loss than testing performed in quiet or steady-state noise.
Design: Sixteen school-age hearing aid users were tested on aided word recognition in noise or two-talker speech. Unaided estimates of speech perception in quiet were retrospectively obtained from the clinical record. Ten parents completed a questionnaire regarding their children's ease of communication and understanding in background noise.
Results: Unaided performance in quiet was correlated with aided performance in competing noise, but not in two-talker speech. Only results in the two-talker masker were correlated with parental reports of their children's functional hearing abilities.
Conclusions: Speech perception testing in a complex background such as two-talker speech may provide a more accurate predictor of the communication challenges of children with hearing loss than testing in steady noise or quiet.

• 出版日期2015-4