The study investigates differences in the auditory discrimination ability of 24 elementary school age reading achievers and underachievers, as measured by standard audiometric tests and nonconventional auditory tests. The findings show that reading underachievers scored significantly poorer than reading achievers on some of the nonconventional…

A study of 44 infants who suffered asphyxia during the perinatal period examined the influence of perinatal asphyxia on the maturation of auditory pathways by serial recordings of the brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP). The general maturational course of the BAEP following asphyxia was similar to a control group. (Author/CR)

An operate conditional technique was used to determine the relative success of toys and video shows as reinforcers for testing the hearing of 28 younger (30-month-old) and 28 older (45-month old) children. Animated toys and video shows for children were equally effective as reinforcers for both age groups. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

The paper reports on a study in which 64 students (6-9 years old) identified as learning disabled in the area of auditory discrimination were trained to discriminate musical pitches in order to assess effects on speech discrimination. A detailed review of the literature is presented regarding the use of music in remediation, the definition of…

To determine the auditory acuity levels and responsiveness of seven deaf blind multihandicapped young children, the authors developed systematic observation procedures that can be used by parents, teachers, and teacher aides. The advantages of this approach and suggestions for further work are described. A case study is reported. (Author)

Reports on a study that examined noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) among school band directors. Finds that 41 percent of band directors in the sample had characteristic NIHL curves indicating that their experience as band directors played a role in the hearing loss. Recommends further study into the causes of NIHL among school band directors. (LS)

This study examined the use of air-puff conditioning audiometry in the hearing assessment of 12 multiply handicapped (including severe/profound mental retardation) subjects, ages 9-32. Ten subjects reached criterion conditioning and then completed the hearing assessment with the air-puff procedure while one reached criterion with a modified…

The purpose of this investigation was to document performance of participants wearing a cochlear implant and hearing aid in opposite ears on speech-perception and localization tests. Twelve individuals who wore a cochlear implant and a hearing aid on contralateral ears were tested on their abilities to understand words in quiet and sentences in…

The relationship between word and stress pattern recognition ability and hearing level was explored by administering the Children's Auditory Test to hearing-impaired young adults (N=27). For word recognition, subjects with average hearing loss between 85 and 100 decibels demonstrated a wide range of performance not predictable from their…

A study investigated whether two speech measures (peak intraoral air pressure (IOP) and IOP duration) obtained during production of intervocalic stops would be altered by the presence or absence of a cochlear implant in five children (ages 7-10). The auditory condition affected peak IOP more than IOP duration. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Temporal envelope and spectral cue resolution were evaluated simultaneously in seven adults with severe/profound hearing impairments. Results revealed that the Auditory Numbers Test (ANT) is differentially sensitive to responses based upon gross temporal envelope and spectral cues in the speech signal. The ANT is endorsed as a screening tool for…

Simultaneous 3- channel recorded auditory brainstem responses (ABR) were obtained from 20 neonates with various high-pass filter settings and low intensity levels. Results support the advocacy of less restrictive high-pass filtering for neonatal and infant ABR screening to air-conducted and bone-conducted clicks. (Author/JDD)

Measures of both temporal and spectral parameters were computed to determine the extent of perseveratory coarticulation in the vowel-consonant syllables produced by 7- and 10-year-old children (n=9). Profoundly hearing-impaired speakers exhibited measurable but smaller effects of perseveratory coarticulation relative to the normally hearing…

This study assessed the hearing function of 35 middle-aged adults with Down's syndrome by means of otoscopy, impedance audiometry, brainstem evoked response audiometry, and pure tone audiometry. The study found brainstem evoked response audiometry useful for routine audiological assessment, as it identified hearing losses of 20 to 90 decibels in…

Ten children (ages 5-6) and 10 adults participated in discrimination and selective adaptation speech perception tasks using a synthetic consonant-vowel continuum. Results support hypotheses of sensory processing differences in younger, normally developing children compared with adults and show that such abilities appear to be related to speech…