Translation and validation of the Listen Inventory for Education Revised into Dutch

The effect of ventilation tube insertion in central auditory processing disorders in children with otitis media with effusion

INTRODUCTION

Otitis media with effusion is one of the most common diseases among children. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether the resolvement of conductive hearing loss from the insertion of a ventilation tube also improves central auditory processing disorders in children with otitis media with effusion.

METHOD

In this cross-sectional study, 20 children between 6 and 12 years old were diagnosed with otitis media with effusion and 20 normal children were included in the study. The central auditory processing status was evaluated in all patients before ventilation tube insertion and after six months by Speech Discrimination Score, Speech Reception Threshold, Words-in-Noise, Speech in Noise, Consonant Vowel in Noise tests, and the results were compared.

RESULTS

The mean score of Speech Discrimination Score and Consonant Vowel in Noise tests in the control group were significantly higher than the patient group before ventilation tube insertion and after surgery, in the patient group, the mean scores increased significantly. The mean scores of the Speech Reception Threshold, Words-in-Noise, and Speech in Noise tests in the control group were significantly lower than the patient group before ventilation tube insertion and after the operation, in the patient group, the mean scores significantly decreased. After VT insertion, these tests were close to the control group.

CONCLUSION

Restituting normal hearing by ventilation tube treatment improves central auditory abilities as shown in speech reception, speech discrimination, the ability to hear, the ability to recognize monosyllabic words, and the power of speech in the presence of noise.

Perceived Listening Difficulty in the Classroom, Not Measured Noise Levels, Is Associated With Fatigue in Children With and Without Hearing Loss

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine if classroom noise levels and perceived listening difficulty were related to fatigue reported by children with and without hearing loss.

METHOD

Measures of classroom noise and reports of classroom listening difficulty were obtained from 79 children (ages 6-12 years) at two time points on two different school days. Forty-four children had mild to moderately severe hearing loss in at least one ear. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to evaluate if measured noise levels, perceived listening difficulty, hearing status, language abilities, or grade level would predict self-reported fatigue ratings measured using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Multidimensional Fatigue Scale.

RESULTS

Higher perceived listening difficulty was the only predictor variable that was associated with greater self-reported fatigue.

CONCLUSIONS

Measured classroom noise levels showed no systematic relationship with fatigue ratings, suggesting that actual classroom noise levels do not contribute to increased reports of subjective fatigue. Instead, perceived challenges with listening appears to be an important factor for consideration in future work examining listening-related fatigue in children with and without hearing loss.

Listening Difficulties of Children With Cochlear Implants in Mainstream Secondary Education

OBJECTIVES

Previous research has shown that children with cochlear implants (CIs) encounter more communication difficulties than their normal-hearing (NH) peers in kindergarten and elementary schools. Yet, little is known about the potential listening difficulties that children with CIs may experience during secondary education. The aim of this study was to investigate the listening difficulties of children with a CI in mainstream secondary education and to compare these results to the difficulties of their NH peers and the difficulties observed by their teachers.

DESIGN

The Dutch version of the Listening Inventory for Education Revised (LIFE-R) was administered to 19 children (mean age = 13 years 9 months; SD = 9 months) who received a CI early in life, to their NH classmates (n = 239), and to their teachers (n = 18). All participants were enrolled in mainstream secondary education in Flanders (first to fourth grades). The Listening Inventory for Secondary Education consists of 15 typical listening situations as experienced by students (LIFEstudent) during class activities (LIFEclass) and during social activities at school (LIFEsocial). The teachers completed a separate version of the Listening Inventory for Secondary Education (LIFEteacher) and Screening Instrument for Targeting Educational Risk.

RESULTS

Participants with CIs reported significantly more listening difficulties than their NH peers. A regression model estimated that 75% of the participants with CIs were at risk of experiencing listening difficulties. The chances of experiencing listening difficulties were significantly higher in participants with CIs for 7 out of 15 listening situations. The 3 listening situations that had the highest chance of resulting in listening difficulties were (1) listening during group work, (2) listening to multimedia, and (3) listening in large-sized classrooms. Results of the teacher's questionnaires (LIFEteacher and Screening Instrument for Targeting Educational Risk) did not show a similar significant difference in listening difficulties between participants with a CI and their NH peers. According to teachers, NH participants even obtained significantly lower scores for staying on task and for participation in class than participants with a CI.

CONCLUSIONS

Although children with a CI seemingly fit in well in mainstream schools, they still experience significantly more listening difficulties than their NH peers. Low signal to noise ratios (SNRs), distortions of the speech signal (multimedia, reverberation), distance, lack of visual support, and directivity effects of the microphones were identified as difficulties for children with a CI in the classroom. As teachers may not always notice these listening difficulties, a list of practical recommendations was provided in this study, to raise awareness among teachers and to minimize the difficulties.

Classroom Listening Experiences of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing Using Listening Inventory For Education-Revised

Purpose This study examined classroom listening experiences reported by students who are deaf or hard of hearing using the Listening Inventory For Education-Revised (LIFE-R). Method Retrospective electronic survey responses from 3,584 school-age participants were analyzed using descriptive statistics to report student perceptions of listening difficulty in various classroom scenarios, including the strategies students used when they did not hear or understand. Stratified data were used to explore potential differences between grades and across degree of hearing loss or type of hearing technology. Results Average student listening appraisal ratings for 15 classroom, school, and social scenarios was 5.7 based on a 10-point Likert scale (0 = difficult, 10 = easy), highlighting listening difficulties encountered during the school day. This finding can be considered in context with the average rating of 7.2 reported from a previous study of students with typical hearing using the LIFE-R. The greatest difficulties were reported when trying to listen when other students in the class were making noise and in hearing the comments of other classmates. Average listening difficulty was greater for respondents in Grades 3-6 than those in Grades 7-12. Listening difficulty also generally increased relative to degree of hearing loss. When unable to hear, some students took proactive steps to improve their listening access; some reported they did nothing. Conclusions Students who are deaf or hard of hearing can face challenges in hearing and understanding throughout the school day. A functional tool to evaluate and monitor student experiences, such as the LIFE-R, can provide information to make necessary and effective adjustments to classroom instruction and the listening environment.