Effect of Minimal Hearing Loss on Children’s Ability to Multitask in Quiet and in Noise

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of minimal hearing loss on children’s ability to perform simultaneous tasks in quiet and in noise. Methods Ten children with minimal hearing loss (HL) and eleven children with normal hearing (NH) participated. Both groups ranged in age from 8 to 12 years. The children categorized common words (primary task) while completing dot-to-dot games (secondary task) in quiet as well as in noise presented at 0 and +6 dB signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). It was hypothesized that the children’s progression through the dot-to-dot games would slow as they encountered more difficult listening environments. This hypothesis was based on the theory that listeners have limited cognitive resources to allocate to any combination of tasks. Results The dot rate of both groups decreased similarly in the multitasking conditions relative to baseline. However, no other differences between groups or listening conditions were revealed. Significantly poorer word categorization was observed for the children with minimal HL in noise. Conclusions These data suggest that children with minimal HL may be unable to respond to a difficult listening task by drawing resources from other tasks to compensate.

Child–Adult Differences in Using Dual-Task Paradigms to Measure Listening Effort

“…In addition, the findings suggest that paradigm sensitivity may not have been solely responsible for previously reported nonsignificant findings; the simple paradigm in the present study was modeled after the one used by Hicks and Tharpe (2002) and was found to be sensitive to the effects of noise. There are several alternative possible reasons why effects of noise on listening effort were found in the present study but not in others (e.g., Hicks & Tharpe, 2002;McFadden & Pittman, 2008). These possible explanations include SNR, task engagement, and participant age.…”

“…In the present study, word recognition performance was significantly degraded by implementing poor SNRs (0 to −2 dB), whereas Hicks and Tharpe (2002) and McFadden and Pittman (2008) used more positive SNRs (+2 to +10dB and 0 to +6 dB, respectively). Indeed, consistent with the present results, Howard et al (2010) reported significant increases in listening effort comparing secondary task performance in quiet and at a −4 dB SNR.…”

“…For example, the results of Howard et al (2010) demonstrate a negative effect of adding the secondary task on speech recognition performance at the most difficult SNRs (0 and −4 dB). McFadden and Pittman (2008) similarly found that the introduction of a dot-to-dot game as a secondary task interfered with the primary task for children with minimal hearing loss, suggesting the secondary task was too engaging.…”

Social skills in preschool children with unilateral and mild bilateral hearing loss

“…For example, suggested that the effects of language delays in children with mild to moderate hearing loss might be mediated through by a hearing loss-related compromise of working memory. In support of this hypothesis, others have reported that children with UMHL expend more cognitive resources when listening or multitasking compared with TH children (Dokovic et al 2014;McFadden and Pittman 2008). If more cognitive capacity being directed toward other tasks, such as listening, social skills development is likely to be affected.…”

“…Research on children with UMHL has mainly focused on language and academic skills and conveys mixed findings: whereas some studies report outcomes for children with UMHL that are comparable to those of TH children (Fitzpatrick et al 2015;Niedzielski et al 2006;Wake et al 2006), others report difficulties among children with UMHL McFadden and Pittman 2008). A recent review identified many areas in which UMHL children may suffer compared with their TH peers; however, there is great variability within the group, and risk factors have not yet been sufficiently investigated .…”