Spectral Resolution and Language in Children with Hearing LossILDREN WITH HEARING LOSS

即使早期识别和干预，30-40%的听力损失（HL）儿童也无法获得 语言和学术技能，满足他们的发展潜力。了解这种变化， 结果可以帮助我们预测谁有持续性语言延迟的风险，即使在听力恢复之后。 艾滋病目前的儿童听力学评估缺乏预测结果的听觉措施。识别 一个基于任务的预测儿童的语言技能是非常有价值的利益相关者， 引导HL儿童的期望和干预。测量光谱分辨率的任务，例如 频谱涟漪检测（SRD）任务可以预测语言结果。光谱分辨率允许 收听者区分语音频谱中区分语音声音的变化。SRD任务可能 在测量HL儿童的心理声学技能方面具有临床实用性，因为一些儿童显示 即使在通过助听器提高可听度之后，也会降低频谱分辨率， 声音是不可理解的，响亮的声音是扭曲的;然而，有有限的研究检查 频谱涟漪检测与儿童语言结果个体差异的关系 听力正常儿童（CNH）或助听器儿童（CHA）。目前的建议将审查光谱 涟漪检测作为学龄期CNH和CHA语言结果的预测因子。这项建议旨在 测试中心假设，即SRD较差的儿童在使用声学线索时会有更大的困难 编码语言导致语言能力下降在目标1中，我们将研究SRD作为 CNH语言的预测器。我们将评估不同年龄段的CNH对SRD和口语的测量 语言（即，形态句法、词汇）。我们假设一个孩子成熟的SRD能力将部分地 随着年龄的增长，他们的语言能力有所提高。在目标2中，我们将研究SRD作为预测因子， 语言在CHA除了目标1中的任务外，我们还将考虑听力损失的影响（即， 通过助听器的听力）对这些关系。我们假设，可听度和SRD性能将 预测语言效果。拟议研究的结果将阐明听力与 听力正常儿童和使用助听器的听力下降儿童的语言。这些 研究结果将改进用于区分受益于助听器的儿童和可能受益于助听器的儿童的工具。 需要改变他们的设备（例如，人工耳蜗植入的候选资格）。

Even with early identification and intervention, 30-40% of children with hearing loss (HL) do not acquire language and academic skills that meet their developmental potential. Understanding this variability in outcomes may help us predict who is at risk for persistent language delays even after being fit with hearing aids. Current audiologic assessment of children lacks auditory measures that predict outcomes. Identifying an auditory-based task that is predictive of a child’s language skills is of great value to stakeholders to guide expectations and intervention of children with HL. Tasks measuring spectral resolution, such as spectral ripple detection (SRD) tasks, may be predictive of language outcomes. Spectral resolution allows listeners to differentiate variations in the speech spectrum that distinguish speech sounds. SRD tasks may have clinical utility in measuring psychoacoustic skills in children with HL because some children show reduced spectral resolution even after audibility is improved via hearing aids, such that some audible sounds are unintelligible and loud sounds are distorted; however, there is limited research examining the relationship between spectral ripple detection and individual differences in language outcomes in children with normal hearing (CNH) or children with hearing aids (CHA). The current proposal will examine spectral ripple detection as a predictor of language outcomes in school-age CNH and CHA. This proposal seeks to test the central hypothesis that children with poorer SRD will have greater difficulty using the acoustic cues that encode speech, resulting in reduced language abilities. In Aim 1, we will investigate SRD as a predictor of language in CNH. We will assess CNH of a variety of ages on measures of SRD and spoken language (i.e., morphosyntax, vocabulary). We hypothesize a child’s maturing SRD abilities will partially account their improved language abilities as they age. In Aim 2, we will investigate SRD as a predictor of language in CHA. In addition to the tasks in Aim 1, we will consider the impact of hearing loss (i.e., audibility via hearing aids) on these relationships. We hypothesize that audibility and SRD performance will predict language outcomes. Results of the proposed study will elucidate the link between hearing and language in typical development and in children with reduced audibility who use hearing aids. These results will improve tools used to distinguish children who benefit from hearing aids from those who may need changes to their devices (e.g., candidacy for cochlear implantation).