Noise Equally Degrades Central Auditory Processing in 2- and 4-Year-Old Children.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate developmental and noise-induced changes in central auditory processing indexed by event-related potentials in typically developing children.

Method: P1, N2, and N4 responses as well as mismatch negativities (MMNs) were recorded for standard syllables and consonants, frequency, intensity, vowel, and vowel duration changes in silent and noisy conditions in the same 14 children at the ages of 2 and 4 years.

Results: The P1 and N2 latencies decreased and the N2, N4, and MMN amplitudes increased with development of the children.

Long-term influence of recurrent acute otitis media on neural involuntary attention switching in 2-year-old children.

Background: A large group of young children are exposed to repetitive middle ear infections but the effects of the fluctuating hearing sensations on immature central auditory system are not fully understood. The present study investigated the consequences of early childhood recurrent acute otitis media (RAOM) on involuntary auditory attention switching.

Methods: By utilizing auditory event-related potentials, neural mechanisms of involuntary attention were studied in 22-26 month-old children (N = 18) who had had an early childhood RAOM and healthy controls (N = 19).

Background Noise Degrades Central Auditory Processing in Toddlers.

Objectives: Noise, as an unwanted sound, has become one of modern society's environmental conundrums, and many children are exposed to higher noise levels than previously assumed. However, the effects of background noise on central auditory processing of toddlers, who are still acquiring language skills, have so far not been determined. The authors evaluated the effects of background noise on toddlers' speech-sound processing by recording event-related brain potentials.

Effects of recurrent acute otitis media on cortical speech-sound processing in 2-year old children.

Objectives: To investigate at the age of 2 years the effects of childhood recurrent acute otitis media (RAOM) on central auditory processing by using cortical event-related potentials elicited by syllable stimuli.

Design: During a 1-year period, 22- to 26-month-old children fulfilling the criteria for tympanostomy tube insertion in Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland, were recruited to the RAOM group (N = 20). The control group (N = 19) was matched by age, sex, and mother's educational level.