# COMPLEX LISTENING SKILLS IN SCHOOL-AGE HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN

> **NIH NIH R01** · FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME · 2022 · $572,213

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Many children with hearing loss (CHL) now receive early intervention within the first few months of life. Even
with early intervention, however, some CHL with hearing aids do not reach their full developmental potential.
Challenges are compounded in learning and social environments because most listening environments are
characterized by background noise. CHL experience significantly greater difficulty than children with normal
hearing (CNH) with understanding speech in noisy situations. CHL who wear hearing aids are an under-
studied population, leading to substantial gaps in our knowledge regarding the underlying mechanisms for their
speech in noise deficits. A limited understanding of the mechanisms for speech recognition in noise hinders the
development of targeted intervention strategies to reduce these deficits. The current proposal will identify
factors that underlie variability in speech recognition in noise in school-age CHL who use hearing aids. This
proposal is based on the premise that selective attention, working memory, and language support processes
that are crucial for speech recognition in noise. The current proposal seeks to test the hypothesis that CHL with
better selective attention, working memory, and language abilities will have stronger spectral resolution,
perceptual weighting for speech, and less susceptibility to informational masking. Advantages in these skills
will be associated with better speech understanding in noise. Three specific aims are proposed: Aim 1.
Examine the effects of selective attention, working memory, and spectral resolution on speech recognition in
noise. Aim 2. Characterize the effects of selective attention and language on perceptual weighting for speech
in noise. Aim 3. Evaluate selective attention as a predictor of speech recognition in speech maskers. In Aim 1,
we will examine measures of selective attention, working memory, and spectral resolution on speech
recognition in noise for CNH and CHL. We predict that selective attention and working memory support
spectral resolution in children, which in turn support speech recognition in noise. In Aim 2, perceptual weighting
functions will be measured for speech stimuli that vary in linguistic complexity. We predict that CNH and CHL
with stronger selective attention, working memory, and language skills will have perceptual weights
concentrated in mid-frequency bands, reflecting mature and selective listening that is less susceptible to noise.
In Aim 3, we will assess the effects of selective attention on speech recognition with speech maskers that
produce informational masking. We predict that CNH and CHL who have stronger selective attention skills will
have less susceptibility to informational masking than peers with poorer skills, but that this effect is mediated
by the child's language and working memory abilities. The data generated from this proposal will inform
theoretical models regarding speech recognition in CNH ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10457280
- **Project number:** 5R01DC013591-09
- **Recipient organization:** FATHER FLANAGAN'S BOYS' HOME
- **Principal Investigator:** Ryan W. McCreery
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $572,213
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-12-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10457280

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10457280, COMPLEX LISTENING SKILLS IN SCHOOL-AGE HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN (5R01DC013591-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10457280. Licensed CC0.

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