Binaural hearing in children using Gaussian enveloped and transposed tones
Erica Ehlers1, Alan Kan1, Matthew B Winn1
1University of Wisconsin-Madison, Waisman Center, 1500 Highland Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53705, USA.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|April 24, 2016
Summary
Normal hearing children ages 8-10 demonstrate adult-like sound discrimination using interaural time and level differences. However, their sound lateralization shows greater variability, suggesting potential challenges for children with bilateral cochlear implants.
Area of Science:
- Auditory Neuroscience
- Pediatric Audiology
- Binaural Hearing
Background:
- Bilateral cochlear implant (BiCI) users exhibit poorer sound localization than normal hearing (NH) peers.
- Cochlear implants (CIs) may not accurately transmit interaural time differences (ITDs) and interaural level differences (ILDs), crucial for sound localization.
- Limited understanding exists regarding binaural sensitivity in NH children using stimuli mimicking CI processing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate binaural sensitivity in NH children (ages 8-10) and adults.
- To evaluate sound discrimination and lateralization using ITD and ILD cues with CI-representative stimuli.
- To establish a baseline for understanding binaural hearing in children with BiCIs.
Main Methods:
- Participants included NH children (8-10 years) and adults.
- Experiments assessed sound discrimination and lateralization.
- Stimuli included spondaic words, Gaussian-enveloped tone pulse trains, and transposed tones, emphasizing envelope cues over temporal fine structure.
Main Results:
- Children's discrimination thresholds for ITDs (15-389 μs) and ILDs (0.5-6.0 dB) were comparable to adults.
- Sound lateralization performance in children exhibited significantly higher variability compared to adults.
- These findings highlight potential difficulties in processing binaural cues for sound localization.
Conclusions:
- NH children's ability to discriminate sounds using binaural cues is mature by age 8-10.
- The increased variability in lateralization suggests challenges in integrating binaural information, relevant to BiCI users.
- Further research is needed to identify factors contributing to impaired binaural cue representation in children with BiCIs.
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