Impact of Children's Auditory Technology (iCAT)

5%的儿童患有致残性听力丧失。这些孩子经常经历言语和语言发展的延迟。虽然这些孩子中的大多数在英国的主流学校上学，但只有34%的孩子能达到两个a -level（或同等水平），而听力正常的同龄人中有55%能达到这一水平。轻度至中度听力损失（MMHL）是儿童中最常见的听力障碍。然而，尽管他们的听力障碍对发育有影响，但这是儿童听力损失中最不为人所知的形式。这意味着迫切需要对这一群体进行研究，以实现国家聋儿协会（英国最大的儿童听力慈善机构，也是该项目的合作伙伴）设定的目标，即确保“到2030年，没有一个聋儿掉队”。患有MMHL的儿童需要使用听觉技术（AT）来帮助他们。助听器比以往任何时候都更先进，更容易使用，辅助听力设备——说话者的讲话直接传输到助听器上，以减少嘈杂背景的影响——现在在教室里很常见。然而，AT是根据成年人的交流方式设计的：成年人通常会看着与他们交谈的人，在听不清楚的情况下要求重复信息。另一方面，听力正常的孩子不看。目前尚不清楚患有MMHL的儿童在倾听时是否会看说话者。这对AT算法的有效性有一定的影响。PI Stewart已经证明，患有MMHL的儿童在使用AT时，在注意力、记忆力和学习能力方面并没有像成年人那样得到同样的改善。这可能是由于1)孩子们没有戴他们的AT；2)辅助听力训练“过得去”，对关键的听力和听力技能有短期或长期的影响（例如，儿童发现他们可以不回头看说话者而听到声音）；或3)ATs不适合儿童。为了验证这些假设，我们将首先系统地回顾英国儿童的AT使用情况。其次，我们将在18个月的时间内收集有关ATs对发育影响的数据。主要的听力和听力技能包括判断声音的来源和结合视听信息。第三，我们将评估患有MMHL的儿童如何与成人和儿童沟通。我们将在一个研究实验室里以教室的形式进行实验，在那里可以测量眼睛和头部的运动以及大脑的活动。这将允许iCAT评估AT算法（例如，为听者观察说话者而设计的算法）是否适合儿童。iCAT将在整个项目中与业界、听力学家和聋人教师合作，确保向为患有MMHL的儿童提供适合儿童的辅助听力治疗的方向转变。通过发表白皮书，iCAT将与英国的慈善机构和专业机构合作，为MMHL儿童使用和适合AT的政策提出基于证据的建议。

Five percent of children have disabling hearing loss. These children often experience delayed speech and language development. Although the majority of these children attend mainstream schools in the UK, only 34% achieve two A-levels (or the equivalent), compared to 55% of their hearing peers. Mild-to-moderate hearing loss (MMHL) is the most common hearing impairment in children. However, despite the effect of their hearing impairment on development it is the least understood form of hearing loss in children. This means there is an urgent need for research on this group in order to meet the goal set by the National Deaf Children's Society (the UK's biggest children's hearing charity and a partner on this project) of making sure that "by 2030, no deaf child will be left behind".Children with MMHL are prescribed auditory technology (AT) to assist them. Hearing aids are more advanced and accessible than ever, and assisted listening devices - where a talker's speech is streamed directly to the hearing aid to reduce the effects of a noisy background - are now common in classrooms. However, AT is designed based on how adults communicate: adults generally look at the person they are talking with and ask for information to be repeated when they do not hear clearly. On the other hand, children with normal hearing do not look. It is unknown if children with MMHL look at the talker while they listen. This has an impact on the effectiveness of the AT algorithms. PI Stewart has shown that children with MMHL do not have the same improvements in attention, memory and learning as adults do when using AT. This could be due to 1) the children are not wearing their AT; 2) the ATs are "too much of a good thing" and have short- or long-term effects on key hearing and listening skills (e.g. children have found that they can hear without turning to look at the talker); or 3) the ATs are not appropriate for children.To test these hypotheses, we will first systematically review children's AT usage across the UK. Second, we will gather data on the developmental impact of ATs over an 18-month period. Key hearing and listening skills including working out where a sound came from and combining audio with visual information will be assessed. Third, we will assess how children with MMHL communicate with adults and children. We will do this in a research lab in the form of a classroom where eye and head movements and brain activity can be measured. This will allow iCAT to evaluate if AT algorithms (e.g. designed for the listener to look at the talker) are appropriate for children. iCAT will work with industry, audiologists and teachers of the deaf throughout the project to ensure change towards providing child-appropriate ATs for the benefit of children with MMHL. Through the publication of white papers, iCAT will work with UK-based charities and professional bodies to create evidence-based recommendations for policy regarding the use and fitting of the AT in children with MMHL.