Undistorted and filtered speech audiometry in children with normal hearing

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Developmental Psychology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Assessing speech understanding in children is crucial for identifying hearing impairments and developmental delays.
• Standardized speech tests are typically developed and normed on adult populations.
• Limited data exists on the applicability of adult speech tests to pediatric populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the intelligibility of undistorted and filtered speech in children aged 4-19 years.
• To determine if standard adult speech discrimination tests can be adapted for pediatric use.
• To establish age-specific norms for speech intelligibility in children.

Main Methods:

• 140 participants with normal hearing, aged 4-19 years, were tested.
• Both undistorted and filtered speech tests were administered using routine adult word lists.
• Speech intelligibility was measured across different age groups.

Main Results:

• Speech intelligibility significantly increased from ages 4 to 9 years for undistorted speech.
• Intelligibility in filtered speech improved up to age 11 years, compared to the 16-19 year old reference group.
• Binaural and left-ear monaural filtered speech test results were significantly better than right-ear monaural results up to age 12-13 years.

Conclusions:

• Speech discrimination tests can be effectively administered to children using adult methods, provided age-specific norms are considered.
• Developmental trends in speech intelligibility are evident in children and adolescents.
• Asymmetrical auditory processing (left vs. right ear) may be present in younger children during filtered speech tasks.