Residual hearing capabilities of nine severely and profoundly retarded deaf-blind children (7-13 years old) were determined with an operant procedure that allowed the children to respond by making a selection between two responses, one which resulted in the presentation of auditory reinforcement or one which resulted in no reinforcement.…

Conductive hearing losses were simulated in 12 subjects aged 19-35 and performance was compared with normal hearing performance. Digit dichotic performance was affected when test intensities were within 8 dB of the "knees" (95 percent correct point) of monotic performance intensity functions, but not when test intensities were 12 dB…

Audiometric screening tests administered to students ages 5-21 in five Nigerian schools (N=2315) revealed hearing problems in 13.5% of the student population. Among findings was a high incidence of acute suppurative otitis media. Related recommendations include twice-yearly audiometric screening for children perceived to be at risk. (JW)

To study the feasibility of using filtered environmental sounds as test stimuli to determine the auditory sensitivity of young children, a tape recorded test was prepared using environmental sounds which retain their identity when filtered. Twenty normal-hearing preschoolers and 40 hearing impaired children (20 with flat sensori-neural hearing…

Directed to professionals with a basic knowledge of audiological principles, the text presents a review of audiological assessment procedures and their applicability to the retarded. Pure-tone, speech, and Bekesy audiometry are described. Also discussed are differential diagnosis of auditory impairments, conditioning and audiological assessment,…

Describes observer-based technique for assessing auditory capacities of infants from three to 12 months of age. This technique, referred to as the Observation-based Psychoacoustic Procedure (OPP), combines features of the Forced-choice Preferential Looking Technique and of the Visual Reinforcement Audiometry. Pure-tone detection and frequency…

A project in which a group of 73 adult, correctional-facility inmates (20 women and 53 men, mean age of 28.6 years) was screened by pure-tone audiometry and by acoustic-immittance procedures is presented. Educational and other implications of the wide extent of undetected and untreated hearing losses in the correctional population are discussed.…

This tutorial reviews auditory research conducted with monolingual and bilingual speakers of Spanish and English. Based on a functional view of bilingualism and on auditory research findings showing that the bilingual experience may affect the outcome of auditory research, it discusses methods for improving descriptions of linguistically diverse…

Seven conference papers from the U.S.S.R., India, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia consider the diagnosis of hearing loss. They are "Examination of Hearing of Children, Aged from 2 to 5, by Means of Playing Audiometry" by A. P. Kossacheva, "A Study of the Etiology and Pattern of Deafness in a School for the Deaf in Madras,…

Hearing loss in infants and young children can be identified through behavioral observation audiometry, visual reinforcement audiometry, or auditory brainstem response testing. Habilitation may involve amplification with hearing aids, other assistive listening devices, or cochlear implants. Expectations for children with different degrees of…

The study investigated whether low frequency air and bone thresholds elicited at high intensity levels from deaf children with a sensory-neural diagnosis reflect valid auditory sensitivity or are mediated through cutaneous-tactile receptors. Subjects were five totally deaf (mean age 17.0) yielding vibrotactile thresholds but with no air and bone…

This study explored the hearing capabilities of Down Syndrome (DS) adolescents and young adults relative to a matched sample of non-DS trainable mentally handicapped (MH) individuals, and examined the relationship between hearing ability and performance on several cognitive tasks. Samples of 26 DS and 26 MH individuals were matched on intelligence…

Eight children (ages 13 days to 5 years) with a diagnosis of Cornelia de Lange syndrome received audiologic evaluation consisting of immittance audiometry and auditory brainstem response audiometry to air and bone conducted "click" stimuli, as behavioral testing was unreliable due to patient age and/or developmental delay. Developmental…