Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2- to 7-Year-Old Children: Evaluation of a Two-Interval, Observer-Based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-Based Responses

Abstract

Purpose It is challenging to collect reliable behavioral data from toddlers and preschoolers. Consequently, we have significant gaps in our understanding of how auditory development unfolds during this time period. One method that appears to be promising is an observer-based procedure that uses conditioned, play-based responses ( Bonino & Leibold, 2017 ). In order to evaluate the quality of data obtained with this method, this study presented a suprathreshold signal to determine the number of trials 2- to 7-year-old children could complete, as well as the associated hit rate and observer confidence. Method Participants were 23 children (2–7 years old). Children were taught to perform a play-based motor response when they detected the 1000-Hz warble tone signal (at 30 dB SPL). An observer evaluated children's behavior using a 2-interval, 2-alternative testing paradigm. Testing was terminated after 100 trials or earlier, if signs of habituation were observed. Results Data were successfully collected from 22 of the 23 children. Of the 22 children, all but 1 child completed 100 trials. Overall hit rate was high (0.88–1.0; M = 0.94) and improved with listener age. Hit rate was stable across the test session. Strong agreement was seen between the correctness of the response and the observer's confidence in the judgment. Conclusion Results of this study confirm that the 2-interval, observer-based procedure described in this article is a powerful tool for measuring detection and discrimination abilities in young children. Future research will (a) evaluate coder reliability and (b) examine stability of performance across a test session when the signal intensity is manipulated. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.8309273

Development of Masked Speech Detection Thresholds in 2- to 15-year-old Children: Speech-Shaped Noise and Two-Talker Speech Maskers

“…Consistent with our previous studies with the PlayO2I method (Bonino & Leibold 2017; Bonino et al 2019), 86% of the 2- to 4-year-old children in the present study were able to successfully complete training and provided “usable” data in at least one masker condition (26 of 30 children). In comparison, participants in all other age groups, except for one adult, provided usable data.…”

“…Building upon this work, this study used the method with an adaptive paradigm to collect masked speech detection thresholds across a wide age range of children. Similar to our previous studies (Bonino & Leibold 2017; Bonino et al 2019), 86% of 2- to 4-year-old children recruited were able to learn the task. Data quality metrics (e.g., probe hit rate, observer confidence) were similar for 2- to 4-year-old children and adults.…”

“…Initial feasibility data for the method reported that 88% of 2- to 4-year-olds (n = 33) were able to be successfully trained (Bonino & Leibold 2017). In a follow-up study, Bonino et al (2019) confirmed that the accuracy of the child-observer teams was high and remained stable over a long test session (100 trials) for a supra-threshold signal. More recently, strong inter-rater reliability for the method was demonstrated by having three observers independently code test sessions (Bonino et al 2020).…”

“…Observer confidence was also similar across test sessions with 2- to 4-year-olds and adults. Results from previous work with the PlayO2I method indicate that observer confidence is strongly associated with both the accuracy of the child-observer team (Bonino et al 2019) and estimates of inter-rater reliability (Bonino et al 2020). In the present study, we computed observer confidence as the percentage of trials recorded as “confident” for individual test sessions.…”

“…The PlayO2I method is a powerful tool for researchers to measure detection abilities in young children. Using a tone detection task in quiet, previous research indicates that this method is feasible for 2- to 4-year-old children (Bonino & Leibold 2017), performance is stable over a long test session (Bonino et al 2019), and that there is strong inter-rater reliability for the method (Bonino et al 2020). Building upon this work, this study used the method with an adaptive paradigm to collect masked speech detection thresholds across a wide age range of children.…”