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Spatial release from masking predicts listening difficulty in children.

Lina Motlagh Zadeh1,2, Meghan M Grojean3, Nathan F Clevenger4

  • 1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

International Journal of Audiology
|March 31, 2026
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Summary

Children with listening difficulty (LiD) have impaired spatial hearing, especially when cognitive demands are low. The sound-field Digits-in-Noise test effectively identifies these auditory deficits in children with LiD.

Keywords:
Digits-in-NoiseListening difficultyauditory processing disorderchildrenspatial release from maskingspeech-in-noise

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Area of Science:

  • Auditory Neuroscience
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Speech and Hearing Sciences

Background:

  • Children with listening difficulty (LiD) often exhibit normal hearing but struggle with speech-in-noise perception.
  • While cognitive factors are implicated, spatial hearing deficits may signal central auditory processing dysfunction in LiD.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To differentiate between cognitive and auditory contributions to spatial release from masking (SRM) in children.
  • To investigate the utility of the sound-field Digits-in-Noise (sfDiN) test in assessing spatial hearing in LiD.

Main Methods:

  • Thirty-five children (17 LiD, 18 typically developing) aged 8-17 years completed audiometric assessments.
  • Participants underwent the Listening in Spatialised Noise-Sentences (LiSN-S) Spatial Advantage and sfDiN tests, with varying masker locations.
  • The sfDiN test was chosen for its lower cognitive demands compared to LiSN-S.

Main Results:

  • Both groups improved with spatial separation on sfDiN, but the LiD group showed significantly poorer performance at ±90° masker locations, indicating reduced SRM.
  • No significant difference in LiSN-S Spatial Advantage was found between groups.
  • sfDiN-SRM correlated with LiSN-S Spatial Advantage, and ROC analyses showed sfDiN measures provided better discrimination of LiD than LiSN-S.

Conclusions:

  • Reduced SRM in children with LiD suggests a specific spatial hearing deficit, particularly under low cognitive load conditions.
  • The sfDiN test is a sensitive and practical tool for identifying auditory contributions to listening difficulties in children.