Childrenwithunilateralhearingloss(UHL)areatanincreasedriskforarangeofdevelopmentaldifficulties and delays, but there is substantial variability in outcomes for individual children. The factors responsible for these individual differences remain unknown. As a result, there is no consensus regarding the audiologic management of pediatric UHL, which contributes to a costly, failure-based model of intervention for affected children. The goal of the proposed research is to determine the factors responsible for the difficulties many children with UHL experience in their everyday lives, thus informing clinical assessment and management of UHL.ThecentralhypothesisisthatreducedspatialhearingskillsinchildrenwithUHLareresponsibleforthe deficitsobservedinthispopulation.Thecentralhypothesiswillbeobjectivelytestedbypursuingthefollowing specific aims: (1) evaluate spatial release from masking (SRM) in children with mild to severe-profound sensorineuralUHLinacomplexspeechmasker,(2)assesslocalizationontheazimuthalplaneinchildrenwith UHL,and(3)determinetheassociationbetweenSRMandfunctionallisteningabilitiesforchildrenwithUHL. Thisresearchprojectincorporatespsychoacoustictechniquesandfunctionallisteningmeasurementsintothe assessmentofchildrenwithUHL.TheexpectedoutcomeofthisprojectisabetterunderstandingofhowUHL affects SRM and the contributions of interaural difference cues to sound source localization in children with UHL.Thisoutcomeisexpectedtohaveanimportantpositiveimpactonclinicalpracticebyprovidingobjective data to guide timely and appropriate audiologic management of children with UHL. The proposed research trainingprogramisdesignedtofosteracquisitionofthetechnicalskillsandbackgroundknowledgeinbinaural hearing, psychoacoustics, and speech perception that are necessary for an independent research career improvingoutcomesforchildrenwithhearingloss,particularlythosewithUHL.
The proposed research will evaluate the effects of unilateral hearing loss on children?s ability to benefit from target-masker spatial separation for speech-on-speech recognition, as well as their ability to localize soundsourcesinspace.Theassociationbetweentheseabilitiesandfunctional,everydaylisteningskillswillbe evaluated. Results will have implications for the clinical assessment and treatment of pediatric unilateral hearingloss.
