Effects of automatic auditory scene classification on speech perception in noise and real-world functional communication in children using cochlear implants.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of automatic scene classification (SCAN) on speech perception in noise and real-world functional performance in children using cochlear implants (CIs).

Methods: We used a within-subjects repeated measures design in two studies. The first study assessed speech perception in noise with or without SCAN enabled in 25 school-aged children.

Parent-Reported Ease of Listening in Preschool-Aged Children With Bilateral and Unilateral Hearing Loss.

Objectives: Evidence from school-aged children suggests that the ease with which children listen varies with the presence of hearing loss and the acoustic environment despite the use of devices like hearing aids. However, little is known about the ease of listening in preschool-aged children with hearing loss-an age at which rapid learning occurs and increased listening difficulty or effort may diminish the required capacity to learn new skills. To this end, the objectives of the present study were to (i) assess parent-reported aided ease of listening as a function of hearing loss configuration (hearing loss in one versus both ears) and device configuration among children with hearing loss in one ear (unilateral hearing loss), and (ii) investigate factors that influence children's ease of listening.

Speech, language, functional communication, psychosocial outcomes and QOL in school-age children with congenital unilateral hearing loss.

Introduction: Children with early-identified unilateral hearing loss (UHL) might be at risk for delays in early speech and language, functional communication, psychosocial skills, and quality of life (QOL). However, a paucity of relevant research prohibits strong conclusions. This study aimed to provide new evidence relevant to this issue.

Predicting Quality of Life and Behavior and Emotion from Functional Auditory and Pragmatic Language Abilities in 9-Year-Old Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Children.

Children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) are likely to exhibit difficulties in development of psychosocial skills, pragmatic language skills, and use of hearing for social communication in real-world environments. Some evidence suggests that pragmatic language use affects peer-relationships and school engagement in these children. However, no studies have investigated the influence of functional auditory performance and use of language and speech in real-world environments on children's behavior and emotion, and on their health-related quality of life.

Development and Evaluation of a Language-Independent Test of Auditory Discrimination for Referrals for Cochlear Implant Candidacy Assessment.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to (1) develop a Language-independent Test of Auditory Discrimination (LIT-AD) between speech sounds so that people with hearing loss who derive limited speech perception benefits from hearing aids (HAs) may be identified for consideration of cochlear implantation and (2) examine the relationship between the scores for the new discrimination test and those of a standard sentence test for adults wearing either HAs or cochlear implants (CIs).

Design: The test measures the ability of the listener to correctly discriminate pairs of nonsense syllables, presented as sequential triplets in an odd-one-out format, implemented as a game-based software tool for self-administration using a tablet computer. Stage 1 included first a review of phonemic inventories in the 40 most common languages in the world to select the consonants and vowels.

Hearing aid fitting and developmental outcomes of children fit according to either the NAL or DSL prescription: fit-to-target, audibility, speech and language abilities.

Objective: This study examined the influence of prescription on hearing aid (HA) fitting characteristics and 5-year developmental outcomes of children.

Design: A randomised controlled trial implemented as part of a population-based study on Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI).

Study Sample: Two-hundred and thirty-two children that were fit according to either the National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) or Desired Sensation Level (DSL) prescription.

Programming characteristics of cochlear implants in children: effects of aetiology and age at implantation.

Objective: We investigated effects of aetiology and age at implantation on changes in threshold (T) levels, comfortable (C) levels and dynamic range (DR) for cochlear implants (CIs) in children over the first five years of life.

Design: Information was collected at 6 months post-activation of CIs, and at 3 and 5 years of age.

Study Sample: One hundred and sixty-one children participating in the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study.

Factors influencing speech perception in noise for 5-year-old children using hearing aids or cochlear implants.

Objective: We investigated the factors influencing speech perception in babble for 5-year-old children with hearing loss who were using hearing aids (HAs) or cochlear implants (CIs).

Design: Speech reception thresholds (SRTs) for 50% correct identification were measured in two conditions - speech collocated with babble, and speech with spatially separated babble. The difference in SRTs between the two conditions give a measure of binaural unmasking, commonly known as spatial release from masking (SRM).

Detection Rates of Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials at Different Sensation Levels in Infants with Sensory/Neural Hearing Loss and Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder.

With the introduction of newborn hearing screening, infants are being diagnosed with hearing loss during the first few months of life. For infants with a sensory/neural hearing loss (SNHL), the audiogram can be estimated objectively using auditory brainstem response (ABR) testing and hearing aids prescribed accordingly. However, for infants with auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) due to the abnormal/absent ABR waveforms, alternative measures of auditory function are needed to assess the need for amplification and evaluate whether aided benefit has been achieved.

Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials Reveal Changes in Audibility with Nonlinear Frequency Compression in Hearing Aids for Children: Clinical Implications.

Hearing loss in children is detected soon after birth via newborn hearing screening. Procedures for early hearing assessment and hearing aid fitting are well established, but methods for evaluating the effectiveness of amplification for young children are limited. One promising approach to validating hearing aid fittings is to measure cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs).

Aided cortical response, speech intelligibility, consonant perception and functional performance of young children using conventional amplification or nonlinear frequency compression.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare conventional processing with nonlinear frequency compression (NLFC) in hearing aids for young children with bilateral hearing loss.

Methods: Sixty-four children aged between 2 and 7 years with bilateral hearing aids were recruited. Evaluations of cortical responses, speech intelligibility rating, consonant perception and functional performance were completed with the children wearing their personal hearing aids with conventional processing.

Language and speech perception of young children with bimodal fitting or bilateral cochlear implants.

Objectives: This paper compares language development and speech perception of children with bimodal fitting (a cochlear implant in one ear and a hearing aid in the opposite ear) or bilateral cochlear implantation.

Methods: Participants were children enrolled in the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment study. Language development was assessed at 3 years of age using standardized tests.

Impact of the presence of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) on outcomes of children at three years of age.

Objective: To determine the influence of the presence of auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD) on speech, language, and psycho-social development of children at three years of age.

Design: A population-based, longitudinal study was performed on outcomes of children with hearing impairment (LOCHI) in Australia. The demographic characteristics of the children were described, and their developmental outcomes were evaluated at three years of age.

A randomized controlled trial of nonlinear frequency compression versus conventional processing in hearing aids: speech and language of children at three years of age.

Objective: To determine the effect of nonlinear frequency compression (NLFC) on children's development of speech and language at three years of age.

Design: A randomized controlled trial was conducted as part of the population-based longitudinal study on outcomes of children with hearing impairment (LOCHI). Participants were randomly assigned to fitting with NLFC (Phonak Naida V SP or UP) or with conventional processing in hearing aids, prescribed by using either the NAL or the DSL formula.

A comparison of NAL and DSL prescriptive methods for paediatric hearing-aid fitting: predicted speech intelligibility and loudness.

Objective: To examine the impact of prescription on predicted speech intelligibility and loudness for children.

Design: A between-group comparison of speech intelligibility index (SII) and loudness, based on hearing aids fitted according to NAL-NL1, DSL v4.1, or DSL m[i/o] prescriptions.

Etiology and audiological outcomes at 3 years for 364 children in Australia.

Hearing loss is an etiologically heterogeneous trait with differences in the age of onset, severity and site of lesion. It is caused by a combination of genetic and/or environmental factors. A longitudinal study to examine the efficacy of early intervention for improving child outcomes is ongoing in Australia.

Outcomes of early- and late-identified children at 3 years of age: findings from a prospective population-based study.

Objective: To address the question of whether, on a population level, early detection and amplification improve outcomes of children with hearing impairment.

Design: All families of children who were born between 2002 and 2007, and who presented for hearing services below 3 years of age at Australian Hearing pediatric centers in New South Wales, Victoria, and Southern Queensland were invited to participate in a prospective study on outcomes. Children's speech, language, functional, and social outcomes were assessed at 3 years of age, using a battery of age-appropriate tests.

A randomized controlled comparison of NAL and DSL prescriptions for young children: hearing-aid characteristics and performance outcomes at three years of age.

Objective: To determine the influence of choice of prescription and other child-, family- and intervention-related factors on speech, language, and functional performance of hearing-impaired children by three years of age.

Design And Study Sample: A randomized controlled design was implemented as part of a population-based, longitudinal study on outcomes of children with hearing impairment (LOCHI) in Australia. Two hundred and eighteen children were randomly assigned to either the NAL or the DSL prescription for first fitting of hearing aids.