Purpose: Children with typical hearing and various language and cognitive challenges can struggle with processing speech in background noise. Thus, children with a language disorder (LD) are at risk for difficulty with speech recognition in poorer acoustic environments. Method: The current study compared the effects of background speech-shaped…

Analysis of audio and videotapes revealed an increase from an understanding of 5 to 469 words after training with a vibrotactile device and traditional aural-oral teaching techniques in a deaf two-year-old. Compared to younger hearing children, she exhibited similar developmental patterns for rate of acquisition and stages of lexical…

The electroacoustic performance of 18 direct-input and two inductive-coupling hearing aids was compared when operating with two different frequency modulation (FM) systems. The most significant differences occurred in full-on gain, equivalent-input noise, and frequency response, as opposed to high frequency average saturation sound pressure level…

Discusses factors that affect how well students with hearing loss and typical students can hear in classrooms. Soundfield equalization is discussed as a way to create an environment where each child is at a favorable speaker-listener distance by routing the teacher's voice to loudspeakers around the classroom. (CR)

Children typically learn in classroom environments that have background noise and reverberation that interfere with accurate speech perception. Amplification technology can enhance the speech perception of students who are hard of hearing. Purpose: This study used a single-subject alternating treatments design to compare the speech recognition…

Three prelinguistic, profoundly deaf children (aged three to four) used a wearable, single channel, vibrotactile communication aid in conjunction with hearing aids during individual speech and language therapy at school. Subjects exhibited a faster than average rate of learning to understand spoken language after the onset of vibrotactile…

Using sound field amplification which increased the intensity of the teacher's voice by 10 decibels, 9 primary-level children with developmental disabilities made fewer errors on a word identification task, were more relaxed, and responded more quickly than without amplification. (Author/JDD)