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[Loudness scaling in children]
H Meister1, M Walger, H von Wedel
1Universitäts-HNO-Klinik Köln, Joseph-Stelzmann-Strasse 9, 50931 Köln. hartmut.meister@uni-koeln.de
HNO
|July 14, 2001
Summary
A new loudness scaling method is reliable for children aged 5-10 years. This psychoacoustic technique provides consistent loudness judgments, aiding in hearing aid evaluations for pediatric audiology.
Area of Science:
- Psychoacoustics
- Audiology
- Pediatric audiology
Context:
- Loudness measurements in children utilize various psychoacoustic methods, including absolute magnitude estimation (AME) and cross-modality matching (CMM).
- A systematic evaluation of loudness scaling in pediatric populations is lacking.
- Categorical and non-categorical loudness scaling methods have been employed previously.
Purpose:
- To present and evaluate a clinically feasible categorical loudness scaling method for children.
- To assess the reliability and appropriateness of this method for children aged 5-10 years.
- To investigate the utility of the method in hearing aid evaluations.
Summary:
- The study evaluated a categorical loudness scaling method in 10 normally hearing children (7-8 years) and hearing-impaired children.
- Normal-hearing children's loudness scaling was comparable to adults, with steeper functions at higher levels.
- While intraindividual scatter was larger in children, test-retest correlations were high, indicating reliability.
Impact:
- The validated method is suitable for children aged approximately 5-10 years.
- Loudness judgments improve with age and decrease with hearing loss severity.
- This technique offers valuable insights for hearing aid evaluations by enabling direct measurement of individual loudness across various levels and frequencies.
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