Maturation of Listening Effort in Typically Developing Children

The study aims to assess the maturation of listening effort (LE) in typically developing children. A total of 140 participants were equally divided into seven age groups: 7 to 7.11 years old, 8 to 8.11 years old, 9 to 9.11 years old, 10 to 10.11 years old, 11 to 11.11 years old, 12 to 12.11 years old, and adults aged 18 to 30. LE was assessed using a dual-tasking paradigm, which included a primary task- repeating words and a secondary task- clicking the right mouse button for a square image and the left button for a triangle image on a laptop screen. The results indicated that age significantly influenced performance on LE's primary and secondary tasks. By age nine, children's performance on primary tasks was statistically comparable to that of adults, whereas by age 12, their secondary task performance reached adult-like levels. Moreover, age was strongly correlated with overall LE outcomes. In conclusion, the study underscores the pivotal role of age in shaping LE performance. The strong correlation between age and overall LE outcomes emphasizes the importance of incorporating age-specific strategies in both assessment and intervention protocols for LE.