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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
P50 Sensory Gating in Infants
Published on: December 26, 2013
Behavioral auditory assessment of young infants: methodological limitations or natural lack of auditory
C B Hicks1, A M Tharpe, D H Ashmead
1Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA. candace.d.bourland@vanderbilt.edu
Insights
Determining auditory thresholds in infants is challenging. While 4-month-olds showed responses, 2-month-olds lacked behavioral responsiveness, suggesting developmental differences in auditory perception.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Pediatric Audiology
Background:
- Assessing auditory thresholds in young infants using behavioral methods presents significant challenges.
- These difficulties may stem from methodological constraints or limited observable auditory responsiveness in infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the feasibility of determining auditory thresholds in 2- and 4-month-old infants under optimized behavioral testing conditions.
- To differentiate between methodological limitations and genuine lack of auditory responsiveness in very young infants.
Main Methods:
- A two-interval, forced-choice task was employed with four distinct intensity levels.
- Testing conditions were enhanced with salient auditory stimuli, minimized visual distractions, and reinforced correct responses.
Main Results:
- Auditory thresholds were successfully determined for 4-month-old infants.
- Threshold determination remained unsuccessful for 2-month-old infants, even with enhanced testing parameters.
Conclusions:
- The findings suggest that the lack of threshold determination in 2-month-olds is likely due to insufficient behavioral responsiveness to auditory stimuli, not methodological flaws.
- Clinical audiologists should anticipate minimal behavioral responses to auditory stimuli below startling levels in infants around 2 months of age.
Abstract:
The determination of auditory thresholds by means of behavioral techniques in young infants can be difficult. This could be the result of limitations in methodology, a lack of observable auditory responsiveness, or both. In the current study, 2- and 4-month old infants were tested under enhanced conditions for obtaining behavioral responses (i.e., salient auditory stimuli, reduced visual distractions, reinforced correct responses). A two-interval, forced-choice task with four intensity levels was used. Although a behavioral threshold was obtained for the 4-month-olds, threshold determination for the 2-month-olds remained elusive. In light of the current findings and previous studies of visual acuity of infants, these results suggest a lack of behavioral responsiveness to auditory stimuli for the younger infants rather than methodological limitations. With infants in the 2-month-old age range, clinical audiologists should expect few behavioral responses to auditory stimuli at intensity levels below those that elicit startle responses.
