Separating contributions of hearing, lexical knowledge, and speech production to speech-perception scores in children with hearing impairments.
Open-set word and sentence speech-perception test scores are commonly used as a measure of hearing abilities in children and adults using cochlear implants and/or hearing aids. These tests are usually presented auditorily with a verbal response. In the case of children, scores are typically lower and more variable than for adults with hearing impairments using similar devices. It is difficult to interpret children's speech-perception scores without considering the effects of lexical knowledge and speech-production abilities on their responses. This study postulated a simple mathematical model to describe the effects of hearing, lexical knowledge, and speech production on the perception test scores for monosyllabic words by children with impaired hearing. Thirty-three primary-school children with impaired hearing, fitted with hearing aids and/or cochlear implants, were evaluated using speech-perception, reading-aloud, speech-production, and language measures. These various measures were incorporated in the mathematical model, which revealed that performance in an open-set word-perception test in the auditory-alone mode is strongly dependent on residual hearing levels, lexical knowledge, and speech-production abilities. Further applications of the model provided an estimate of the effect of each component on the overall speech-perception score for each child.
The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia. l.paatsch@unimelb.edu.au
Louise E
LE
Paatsch
Peter J
PJ
Blamey
Julia Z
JZ
Sarant
Lois F A
LF
Martin
Catherine P
CP
Bow
D000293:Adolescent; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D002648:Child; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D005260:Female; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007807:Language Tests; D008037:Linguistics; D008297:Male; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010700:Phonetics; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013067:Speech Perception; D013068:Speech Production Measurement / Q000379:methods*