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Updated: May 28, 2026
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Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Binaural masking level differences in infants with and without otitis media with effusion
M E Hutchings1, S E Meyer, D R Moore
1Laboratory of Physiology, Oxford University, UK.
Hearing Research
|November 1, 1992
Summary
Infants show poorer sound detection in noise, with similar results regardless of otitis media with effusion (OME) history. This suggests infants are naturally disadvantaged in noisy environments, and OME does not worsen this hearing ability.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- Infants' auditory processing in noisy environments is not well understood.
- Otitis media with effusion (OME) can impact hearing, but its effect on infant auditory processing in noise is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To measure the binaural masking level difference (MLD) in infants with and without a history of OME.
- To compare infant MLD performance to that of older children and adults.
Main Methods:
- Two groups of 7-10-month-old infants (with and without OME history) participated.
- A 500 Hz signal was detected against a narrow band noise masker using binaural presentation.
- Masked thresholds and MLDs were calculated for all participants.
Main Results:
- Infants without OME history exhibited elevated masked thresholds and reduced MLDs compared to older children and adults.
- Infants with OME history showed similar elevated thresholds and reduced MLDs, comparable to non-OME infants.
- OME did not appear to further impair sound detection in noise for infants.
Conclusions:
- Infants are inherently less adept than older individuals at detecting sounds in noisy environments.
- A history of otitis media with effusion does not seem to exacerbate infants' difficulties with auditory processing in noise.
