Recent studies have shown that children with hearing loss who are identified through universal newborn hearing screening programs are not as delayed in speech and language development as children who are identified at later ages. It appears, however, that even with early identification and intervention (including amplification), these children are still delayed relative to children with normal hearing. In the current proposal, it is hypothesized that these persistent delays are the result of reduced auditory access and limited auditory experiences. Specifically, one consequence of congenital hearing loss is limited auditory access to speech. Reduced auditory experience in infancy may compromise auditory perceptual foundations upon which later language stages are constructed. It is critical to determine the constellation of auditory factors that support early learning and the experiences that facilitate continued language development throughout childhood. The overall goal of this project is to explore ways in which to enhance auditory access and auditory experiences in young children with hearing loss. Current hearing instruments and other assistive listening devices appear to be incapable of fully compensating for the perceptual degradation of hearing loss. In addition the negative influence of factors such as distance, noise, and reverberation are magnified for children with hearing loss, thus reducing the number and quality of auditory experiences. Two areas associated with reduced auditory access for children with hearing loss will be investigated in the studies described in this proposal. First, the influence of selected forms of advanced signal processing on speech perception, speech production, novel-word learning, and ease of listening will be explored. Second, experiments will be conducted to determine whether the quality and quantity of auditory experiences can be enhanced for the purpose of accelerating auditory skill development and adaptation to new signal-processing algorithms. In combination, these studies potentially could result in the development of alternative intervention strategies leading to more successful speech and language outcomes for children with hearing loss.
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