Why good listening environments are essential for development and learning

Whyte, Stuart (2021) Why good listening environments are essential for development and learning. British Cochlear Implant Group, Online. 11 - 12 May 2021.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)

Abstract

Introduction
External and internal background noise and the prolongation of reflected sound (reverberation) give rise to auditory processing challenges and greater cognitive effort. Reverberation is known to have a negative impact on speech intelligibility, particularly for children with hearing or communication needs, and adversely affects word and sentence recognition.

Background
Within the room there is a point where the sound source and the reflected sounds are equal in intensity, but beyond this ‘critical distance’ reflected sound dominates and without amplification, audible information is limited.

Method
Searches were conducted to elicit all articles with relevant content related to deaf children, speech, auditory, perception, recognition, noise and reverberation across four databases (ERIC, MedLine, PubMed and Web of Science Core Collection). The initial search captured some studies with adults and only those of direct relevance to children were included. The articles were further reduced by focusing on studies relevant to (re)habilitation.

Results
The acoustic quality of a learning space is crucial for children’s listening and development and cognitive development is a key predictor of outcomes following cochlear implantation (Bavin et al., 2018; Datta et al., 2020). Adverse listening conditions challenge children’s speech perception (Schiller et al., 2020).

Conclusion
Cochlear implantation at a younger age has a significant impact on auditory perception in deaf children. Good acoustic environments supports the listening, learning and development of children. Timely intervention, appropriate amplification and the quantity and quality
of talk all influence outcomes. Simple acoustic treatment of a learning space can support good listening experiences and the use of remote microphone technology is beneficial. Ashori (2020, p. 65) concluded that “speech intelligibility and auditory perception are two complex and
multidimensional phenomena that require a unique rehabilitation program to further develop speaking skills.”