UCL Research Department of Developmental Science

MMHL

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Sound Processing and Language in Children with Mild to Moderate Hearing Loss

1. To assess sound processing in children with MMHL.

Sound processing will be assessed using behavioural psychophysical methods that measure the smallest differences between sounds that people can detect. However, researchers have shown that sometimes children with hearing loss perform poorly on these tests because they need to put more effort into tasks that require them to listen. Because of this, we will also measure sound processing using a technique that does not require any active listening. This technique is known as EEG (ElectroEncephaloGraphy).

2. To investigate the aided and unaided sound processing abilities of children with MMHL.

Many of the tests we do assess sound processing when the children are not wearing their hearing aids. However, in the real world, many children with MMHL do wear hearing aids, and much of the sound processing they do takes place with them on. Consequently, we will assess sound processing both while children are wearing their hearing aid(s) and while they are not.

3. To determine whether sound processing is linked to language development in children with MMHL.

To assess whether difficulties with sound processing are linked to language impairments in children with MMHL, we will measure their performance on a wide range of language tests. Because our test battery is very comprehensive, we should be able to see which sound processing abilities are linked to which language abilities.