Development of the Mandarin Phoneme Detection Score Sheet as a Screening Tool

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Pediatric Medicine

Background:

• Accurate hearing thresholds are crucial for effective hearing aid fitting.
• Pediatric audiology often uses narrow-band noise (NBN) and speech sounds to engage children.
• Assessing aided audiological performance across all frequencies in children presents challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a frequency-specific phoneme screening tool for pediatric audiology.
• To evaluate the aided performance of pediatric hearing aid users.
• To introduce the Mandarin Phoneme Detection Score Sheet for early intervention.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 30 adults with typical hearing and 30 children (3-12 years) with hearing loss.
• Measured aided detection threshold ranges for Mandarin phonemes and NBN using 95% confidence intervals.
• Utilized stepwise regression analysis to identify phonemes predicting NBN detection.

Main Results:

• Developed the Mandarin Phoneme Detection Score Sheet based on regression analysis.
• Identified Mandarin phonemes /ɤ, a, tɕh/ as predictors of detection performance across frequencies.
• Demonstrated the tool's ability to assess aided audiological performance.

Conclusions:

• The Mandarin Phoneme Detection Score Sheet aids audiologists and early intervention professionals.
• Facilitates early determination of hearing aid benefits for pediatric patients.
• Supports timely intervention for children with early-stage hearing loss.