Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026
14:05
Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
Temporal resolution in children: comparing normal hearing, conductive hearing loss and auditory processing disorder.
Sheila Andreoli Balen1, Letícia Bretzke, Carla Meller Mottecy
1Curso de Fonoaudiologia e de Especialização em Audiologia, Universidade de São Paulo.
Brazilian Journal of Otorhinolaryngology
|June 3, 2009
Summary
Children with conductive hearing loss or auditory processing disorders showed impaired temporal resolution, impacting their ability to detect brief silences compared to normal-hearing peers.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Temporal resolution is crucial for speech perception.
- Auditory disorders can negatively affect temporal processing, hindering language development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare temporal resolution in children with normal hearing, conductive hearing loss, and auditory processing disorders.
- Investigate the impact of specific auditory conditions on the ability to perceive brief auditory events.
Main Methods:
- A clinical and experimental study involving 31 children aged 7-10.
- Participants were divided into three groups: normal hearing, conductive hearing loss, and auditory processing disorders.
- Temporal resolution was assessed using a gap detection test across various frequencies.
Main Results:
- Children with normal hearing demonstrated significantly better gap detection thresholds than those with conductive hearing loss or auditory processing disorders.
- No significant difference in gap detection was found between children with conductive hearing loss and those with auditory processing disorders.
Conclusions:
- Both conductive hearing loss and auditory processing disorders significantly affect temporal resolution in children.
- Impaired gap detection thresholds highlight the challenges faced by these children in processing auditory information essential for language.
Related Concept Videos
01:31Hearing
When we hear a sound, our nervous system is detecting sound waves—pressure waves of mechanical energy traveling through a medium. The frequency of the wave is perceived as pitch, while the amplitude is perceived as loudness.
01:21Perceiving Loudness, Pitch, and Location
The human brain perceives pitch through two primary mechanisms reflected in place theory and frequency theory. Each mechanism describes how sound waves are interpreted as specific pitches by the brain, offering insights into the intricate processes of auditory perception.
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
Place theory, or place coding, suggests that different pitches are heard because various sound waves activate specific locations along the cochlea's basilar membrane. The brain determines the pitch of a sound by identifying...
01:15Auditory Pathway
Auditory pathways constitute the complex neural circuits responsible for transmitting and interpreting auditory information from the peripheral auditory system to the brain. Sound waves are initially captured by the outer ear, funneled through the ear canal, and reach the tympanic membrane (eardrum). These vibrations are transmitted via the middle ear's ossicles to the inner ear's cochlea.
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
When viewed cross-sectionally, the cochlea reveals the scala vestibuli and scala tympani flanking the...
01:13The Cochlea
The cochlea is a coiled structure in the inner ear that contains hair cells—the sensory receptors of the auditory system. Sound waves are transmitted to the cochlea by small bones attached to the eardrum called the ossicles, which vibrate the oval window that leads to the inner ear. This causes fluid in the chambers of the cochlea to move, vibrating the basilar membrane.