Child hearing loss and vocal turn-taking between family members

Abstract

How does hearing loss affect vocal turn-taking within families? This study examined turn-taking between children and multiple members of their social environment. For children with hearing loss, we also examined potential differences by device, hearing aids (HA) versus cochlear implants (CI). Daylong audio recordings were obtained monthly for about a year using a wearable recorder. Conversational turns per hour (CTC/hr) between children with- and without hearing loss and their family members were estimated by automated speech processing. Results indicate that the CI children engaged in fewer CTC/hr with adult caregivers compared to the HA and normal-hearing groups. Initially, a higher CTC/hr between the target child and the adult female was observed compared to the adult male or the other child. With child age, turn taking between the target child and the adult female increased relative to the target child and the adult male. Over time, CTC/hr between the target child and other child exceeded turn taking between others. This increase occurred earlier in families with siblings. Results suggest vocal turn-taking between family members depends on the degree of child hearing loss and relations within the family. Longitudinally, there was a positive effect of assistive device on the quantity of turns.