Can children with (central) auditory processing disorders ignore irrelevant sounds?

Equivalent auditory distraction in children and adults

There is an ongoing debate about whether children have more problems ignoring auditory distractors than adults. This is an important empirical question with direct implications for theories making predictions about the development of selective attention. In two experiments, the disruptive effect of to-be-ignored speech on short-term memory performance of third graders, fourth graders, fifth graders, younger adults, and older adults was examined. Three auditory conditions were compared: (a) steady state sequences in which the same distractor was repeated, (b) changing state sequences in which different distractors were presented, and (c) auditory deviant sequences in which a deviant distractor was presented in a sequence of repeated distractors. According to the attentional resource view, children should exhibit larger disruption by changing and deviant sounds due to their poorer attentional control abilities compared with adults. The duplex-mechanism account proposes that the auditory deviant effect is under attentional control, whereas the changing state effect is not, and thus predicts that children should be more susceptible to auditory deviants than adults but equally disrupted by changing state sequences. According to the renewed view of age-related distraction, there should be no age differences in cross-modal auditory distraction because some of the irrelevant auditory information can be filtered out early in the processing stream. Children and adults were equally disrupted by changing and deviant speech sounds regardless of whether task difficulty was equated between age groups or not. These results are consistent with the renewed view of age-related distraction.

Differences in Auditory Distraction between Adults and Children: A Duplex-mechanism Approach

Differences in the impact of irrelevant sound on recall performance in children (aged 7–9 years old; N = 89) compared to adults (aged 18–22 years old; N = 89) were examined. Tasks that required serial rehearsal (serial and probed-order recall tasks) were contrasted with one that did not (the missing-item task) in the presence of irrelevant sound that was either steady-state (a repeated speech token), changing-state (two alternating speech tokens) and, for the first time with a child sample, could also contain a deviant token (a male-voice token embedded in a sequence otherwise spoken in a female voice). Participants either completed tasks in which the to-be-remembered list-length was adjusted to individual digit span or was fixed at one item greater than the average span we observed for the age-group. The disruptive effects of irrelevant sound did not vary across the two methods of determining list-length. We found that tasks encouraging serial rehearsal were especially affected by changing-state sequences for both age-groups (i.e., the changing-state effect) and there were no group differences in relation to this effect. In contrast, disruption by a deviant sound—generally assumed to be the result of attentional diversion—was evident among children in all three tasks while adults were less susceptible to this effect. This pattern of results suggests that developmental differences in distraction are due to differences in attentional control rather than serial rehearsal efficiency.

Characteristics of Auditory Processing Disorders: A Systematic Review

PURPOSE

The purpose of this review article is to describe characteristics of auditory processing disorders (APD) by evaluating the literature in which children with suspected or diagnosed APD were compared with typically developing children and to determine whether APD must be regarded as a deficit specific to the auditory modality or as a multimodal deficit.

METHOD

Six electronic databases were searched for peer-reviewed studies investigating children with (suspected) APD in comparison with typically developing peers. Relevant studies were independently reviewed and appraised by 2 reviewers. Methodological quality was quantified using the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's levels of evidence.

RESULTS

Fifty-three relevant studies were identified. Five studies were excluded because of weak internal validity. In total, 48 studies were included, of which only 1 was classified as having strong methodological quality. Significant dissimilarities were found between children referred with listening difficulties and controls. These differences relate to auditory and visual functioning, cognition, language, reading, and physiological and neuroimaging measures.

CONCLUSIONS

Methodological quality of most of the incorporated studies was rated moderate due to the heterogeneous groups of participants, inadequate descriptions of participants, and the omission of valid and reliable measurements. The listening difficulties of children with APD may be a consequence of cognitive, language, and attention issues rather than bottom-up auditory processing.

Individual differences in distractibility: An update and a model

This paper reviews the current literature on individual differences in susceptibility to the effects of background sound on visual-verbal task performance. A large body of evidence suggests that individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) underpin individual differences in susceptibility to auditory distraction in most tasks and contexts. Specifically, high WMC is associated with a more steadfast locus of attention (thus overruling the call for attention that background noise may evoke) and a more constrained auditory-sensory gating (i.e., less processing of the background sound). The relation between WMC and distractibility is a general framework that may also explain distractibility differences between populations that differ along variables that covary with WMC (such as age, developmental disorders, and personality traits). A neurocognitive task-engagement/distraction trade-off (TEDTOFF) model that summarizes current knowledge is outlined and directions for future research are proposed.

Comparative analysis of performance in reading and writing of children exposed and not exposed to high sound pressure levels

PURPOSE

To analyze the possible relationships between high sound pressure levels in the classroom and performance in the use of lexical and phonological routes in reading and writing.

METHODS

This consisted on a quantitative and exploratory study. The following measures were carried out: acoustic measurement, using the dosimeter, visual inspection of the external auditory canal, tonal audiometry thresholds, speech recognition tests and acoustic immittance; instrument for evaluation of reading and writing of isolated words. The non-parametric χ² test and Fisher's exact test were used for data analysis. The results of acoustic measurements in 4 schools in Santa Maria divided the sample of 87 children of third and fourth years of primary school, aged 8 to 10 years, in 2 groups. The 1st group was exposed to sound levels higher than 80 dB(A) (Study group) and the 2nd group at levels lower than 80 dB(A) (Control group).

RESULTS

Higher prevalence of correct answers in reading and writing of nonwords, reading irregular words and frequency effect were observed. Predominance of correct answers in the writing of irregular words was observed in the Control group. For the Study group, a higher number of type errors neologism in reading and writing were observed, especially regarding the writing of nonwords and the extension effect; fewer errors of lexicalization type and verbal paragraphy in writing were observed.

CONCLUSION

In assessing the reading and writing skills, children in the Study group exposed to high noise levels had poorer performance in the use of lexical and phonological routes, both in reading and in writing.

Exposição a níveis de pressão sonora em sala de aula, imitanciometria e teste SSW em escolares de 3º e 4º ano do ensino fundamental

OBJETIVO: investigar os efeitos dos níveis de pressão sonora elevados em sala de aula e das alterações imitanciométricas sobre as habilidades auditivas de crianças em fase inicial de letramento. MÉTODOS: estudo quantitativo e exploratório. Medições acústicas por meio de dosímetro; inspeção visual do conduto auditivo externo; audiometria tonal e vocal; imitanciometria. Os resultados das mensurações acústicas realizadas por meio de dosímetro em quatro escolas de Santa Maria - RS, dividiu a amostra de 87 crianças do 3º e 4º ano do ensino fundamental, na faixa etária de oito a dez anos em dois grupos - Grupo 1 / não expostos e Grupo 2 / expostos a níveis maiores que 80dB(A). A amostra também foi separada em 38 crianças sem alterações imitanciométricas e 49 com alterações, avaliadas em suas habilidades auditivas pelo teste dicótico de Dissílabos Alternados - SSW. RESULTADOS: o G1 apresentou melhores resultados na DC e EC em ambas às condições imitanciométricas, sem evidenciar diferença estatística. Foi constatada maior quantidade de acertos para a OE; a média do total de acertos evidenciou desempenhos semelhantes entre os grupos; o G1 apresentou melhores resultados na decodificação fonêmica, porém piores resultados nos subperfis codificação e organização. CONCLUSÕES: o presente estudo demonstrou que níveis de pressão sonora elevados em sala de aula não interferem nas habilidades auditivas testadas por meio do SSW, de crianças em processo de aprendizagem.

Investigating the role of attentional resources in the irrelevant speech effect

Irrelevant words can be disruptive to performance, and the frequency of usage of the irrelevant words has affected the magnitude of such disruption (Buchner & Erdfelder, 2005). The finding of word frequency differences in the magnitude of the irrelevant speech effect (ISE) implicated a role for attentional processes. Using a different conceptualization of attention, researchers have found that individual differences in working memory capacity did not predict the magnitude of the ISE, which questioned the role of attentional control (Beaman, 2004; Sörqvist, 2010). The current study investigated aspects of the construct of attention and the ISE, using both individual and developmental difference approaches. Results showed no significant difference between serial recall performances in the presence of high or low word frequency distractors. Furthermore, effects of working memory capacity differences were not found, but children displayed a larger ISE than college students. The weight of the evidence appears against an attentional resource view of the ISE.

Communication, listening, cognitive and speech perception skills in children with auditory processing disorder (APD) or Specific Language Impairment (SLI)

PURPOSE

Parental reports of communication, listening, and behavior in children receiving a clinical diagnosis of specific language impairment (SLI) or auditory processing disorder (APD) were compared with direct tests of intelligence, memory, language, phonology, literacy, and speech intelligibility. The primary aim was to identify whether there were differences between these characteristics in children with SLI or APD.

METHOD

Normally hearing children who were clinically diagnosed with SLI (n = 22) or APD (n = 19), and a quasirandom sample of mainstream school (MS) children (n = 47) aged 6-13 years, underwent tests of verbal and nonverbal IQ, digit span, nonsense word repetition, Spoonerisms, reading, grammar, and sentence and VCV nonword intelligibility. Parents completed questionnaires on the children's communication, listening, and behavior.

RESULTS

There was generally no difference between the performance of the children with SLI and the children with APD on the questionnaire and test measures, and both groups consistently and significantly underperformed compared with the children in the MS group. Speech intelligibility in both noise and quiet was unimpaired in the SLI and APD groups.

CONCLUSION

Despite clinical diagnoses of SLI or APD, the 2 groups of children had very similar behavioral and parental report profiles, suggesting that the children were differentially diagnosed based on their referral route rather than on actual differences.

Resolução temporal de crianças escolares

OBJETIVO: estudar a resolução temporal de crianças com desenvolvimento normal no teste de detecção de intervalos de silêncio (Random gap detection - RGDT) e no teste de detecção do intervalo no ruído (Gaps-in-noise - GIN). MÉTODOS: a população foi composta por 73 crianças escolares, sendo selecionadas 19 com desenvolvimento normal, na faixa etária de seis a 14 anos, de ambos os sexos, ausência de histórico otológico e/ou audiológico e de queixas escolares; audição normal; produção articulatória de todos os sons do Português e sem distúrbios do processamento auditivo. Os procedimentos da pesquisa foram os testes RGDT e GIN, realizados a 50 dB NS sendo o primeiro apresentado binaural e o segundo monoauralmente. Para análise dos dados foi aplicado teste t de Student. RESULTADOS: no teste RGDT, a média dos intervalos de silêncio para as freqüências de 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 4000 Hz foram respectivamente, 10,13 ms; 8,69 ms; 11,94 ms; 10,56 ms, não ocorrendo diferenças estatisticamente significantes em relação à freqüência testada. No teste GIN, a média do limiar foi de 5,7 ms para a orelha direita e 5,4 ms para a orelha esquerda, não havendo diferença estatisticamente significante quanto à orelha avaliada. CONCLUSÃO: há evidências de diferenças dos limiares dos testes, o que aponta a hipótese de que GIN e RGDT não estejam avaliando a mesma habilidade auditiva ou requisitem processos não auditivos nas tarefas solicitadas. Desta forma, são necessárias novas pesquisas para entender melhor a aplicabilidade e os parâmetros de ambos os testes na prática clínica no Brasil.