A Test of Children's English/Spanish Speech Perception in Noise or Speech Maskers

Funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH Grant Number R01 DC015056; PI: Lori Leibold and Emily Buss)

Speech perception testing is crucial when assessing a child's hearing. Many children are raised in Spanish-speaking households in the United States. Due to a lack of language-appropriate test materials in the audiology clinic, however, speech perception testing is often performed in English or omitted entirely. As a result, children's candidacy for hearing devices and language intervention can be affected. Furthermore, most speech perception testing is performed in quiet or in the presence of noise, despite the complex listening environments children face in their everyday lives. This series of studies, funded by the National Institutes of Health, aims to develop a clinical speech perception test which allows audiologists to appropriately evaluate Spanish- and English- speaking children in both noise and two-talker backgrounds.

We are actively recruiting children and adults with normal hearing who are monolingual English speakers or bilingual Spanish/English speakers.

Participate

Our studies are actively seeking participants to participate in research studies. Please fill out the form below if you would like to sign up. If you have any questions about participation, please email HADL@boystown.org or call (531) 355-6625 and we will get back to you.

Online Form - Simple Research Form

Upon Your Arrival

Once you arrive at Boys Town National Research Hospital, one of our lab employees will greet you in the lobby and escort you to the laboratory. We will walk you through the details of participating in the study and will request that you (and your child if over the age of 7) formally give your consent to participate in the study.

During the Visit

The length of the visit varies depending on the child but is always less than 3 hours. The visit can be split into separate sessions if desired or needed. We ensure that children have frequent breaks. Measures that are conducted in our lab include:

Hearing evaluation or hearing screening
Hearing aid measurement for children who are hard of hearing
Assessment of speech and language skills such as vocabulary
Assessment of executive function and working memory
Sound perception testing. Your child will listen to sounds presented from a speaker or headphones. The sounds are played in quiet or with noise in the background. Your child will tell us what they hear by touching a picture on a computer, by raising their hand, or by repeating back words or sentences that they hear.
- For parents of infants, your baby will sit on your lap and listen to sounds. We will observe your infant's responses to sounds.
- For parents of toddlers, we will teach your child to make a response to sound by using play activities, such as putting a toy in a bucket when they hear a specific sound.
- For participants who are unable to respond by raising their hand, repeating back words, or using play activities, we may use observational techniques to see how they respond to sound.

After the Visit

At the end of the visit, your child will pick out a small prize as our thank you for participating in the study. In addition, you will be compensated for your time on an hourly basis.

Important Reminders