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Tone perception in Cantonese-speaking children with hearing aids
Kathy Y S Lee1, Charles Andrew van Hasselt, Michael C F Tong
1Institute of Human Communicative Research, Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong.
Hearing aids improve Cantonese tone perception for children with moderate to severe hearing loss. However, they are ineffective for profound hearing loss (over 90 dB).
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Pediatric Hearing
Background:
- Cantonese is a tonal language where pitch variations distinguish word meanings.
- Hearing impairment can significantly affect a child's ability to perceive and process these crucial tonal cues.
- Understanding the impact of hearing aids on tonal perception is vital for auditory rehabilitation in children.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of hearing aids in enhancing Cantonese lexical tone perception in children.
- To determine if the benefit of hearing aids varies across different degrees of hearing impairment.
Main Methods:
- Forty-eight children with moderate to profound hearing loss participated.
- A lexical tone perception test was administered in soundproof booths.
- Performance was compared between unaided (hearing aids off) and aided (hearing aids on) conditions.
Main Results:
- Children demonstrated higher mean tone perception scores with hearing aids.
- Statistically significant improvements were observed in moderate (p=.02) and severe (p=.03) hearing loss groups.
- Marginal significance was found in the moderately severe group (p=.058), while profound hearing loss showed no significant improvement (p=.55).
Conclusions:
- Hearing aid use is beneficial for Cantonese tone perception in children with moderate to severe hearing impairment.
- Hearing aids do not effectively aid Cantonese tone perception for children with profound hearing loss (hearing loss > 90 dB).
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