Infant thresholds with enhanced attention to the signal in visual reinforcement audiometry

Experimental data show a discrepancy between adult auditory thresholds and best estimates of infant thresholds. The source of the discrepancy has not been determined. Attentional differences between infants and adults and procedural differences to accommodate infant attentional behavior may account at least in part for the discrepancy. A standard operant procedure, Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA), was modified to enhance infant attention to impending auditory signals. Results on 16 infants evaluated with conventional VRA and modified VRA revealed an average 5.5 dB improvement in threshold with the modified technique. Correction for adult performance in similar tasks indicated a 3.3 dB attentional effect between infant and adult thresholds. The shift in threshold reflects on the adequacy of VRA as a threshold procedure.