Assessing speech perception in children with hearing loss: what conventional clinical tools may miss
Andrea Hillock-Dunn1, Crystal Taylor, Emily Buss
11Department of Allied Health Sciences, Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; and 2Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Objectives:
This study tested the hypothesis that word recognition in a complex, two-talker masker is more closely related to real-world speech perception for children with hearing loss than testing performed in quiet or steady-state noise.
Design:
Sixteen school-age hearing aid users were tested on aided word recognition in noise or two-talker speech. Unaided estimates of speech perception in quiet were retrospectively obtained from the clinical record. Ten parents completed a questionnaire regarding their children's ease of communication and understanding in background noise.
Results:
Unaided performance in quiet was correlated with aided performance in competing noise, but not in two-talker speech. Only results in the two-talker masker were correlated with parental reports of their children's functional hearing abilities.
Conclusions:
Speech perception testing in a complex background such as two-talker speech may provide a more accurate predictor of the communication challenges of children with hearing loss than testing in steady noise or quiet.
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