The Importance of High-Frequency Bandwidth on Speech and Language Development in Children: A Review of Patricia Stelmachowicz's Contributions to Pediatric Audiology

Abstract

We review the literature related to Patricia Stelmachowicz's research in pediatric audiology, specifically focusing on the influence of audibility in language development and acquisition of linguistic rules. Pat Stelmachowicz spent her career increasing our awareness and understanding of children with mild to severe hearing loss who use hearing aids. Using a variety of novel experiments and stimuli, Pat and her colleagues produced a robust body of evidence to support the hypothesis that development moderates the role of frequency bandwidth on speech perception, particularly for fricative sounds. The prolific research that came out of Pat's lab had several important implications for clinical practice. First, her work highlighted that children require access to more high-frequency speech information than adults in the detection and identification of fricatives such as /s/ and /z/. These high-frequency speech sounds are important for morphological and phonological development. Consequently, the limited bandwidth of conventional hearing aids may delay the formation of linguistic rules in these two domains for children with hearing loss. Second, it emphasized the importance of not merely applying adult findings to the clinical decision-making process in pediatric amplification. Clinicians should use evidence-based practices to verify and provide maximum audibility for children who use hearing aids to acquire spoken language.

Keywords

pediatric audiology - language - speech

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
01. März 2023

• References

• 1 Tomblin JB, Harrison M, Ambrose SE, Walker EA, Oleson JJ, Moeller MP. Language outcomes in young children with mild to severe hearing loss. Ear Hear 2015; 36, Suppl 1 (01) 76S-91S
• 2 Dunn CC, Walker EA, Oleson J. et al. Longitudinal speech perception and language performance in pediatric cochlear implant users: the effect of age at implantation. Ear Hear 2014; 35 (02) 148-160
• 3 Niparko JK, Tobey EA, Thal DJ. et al; CDaCI Investigative Team. Spoken language development in children following cochlear implantation. JAMA 2010; 303 (15) 1498-1506
• 4 Wie OB, Torkildsen JVK, Schauber S, Busch T, Litovsky R. Long-term language development in children with early simultaneous bilateral cochlear implants. Ear Hear 2020; 41 (05) 1294-1305
• 5 Nittrouer S, Muir M, Tietgens K, Moberly AC, Lowenstein JH. Development of phonological, lexical, and syntactic abilities in children with cochlear implants across the elementary grades. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2018; 61 (10) 2561-2577
• 6 Cupples L, Ching TY, Crowe K, Day J, Seeto M. Predictors of early reading skill in 5-year-old children with hearing loss who use spoken language. Read Res Q 2014; 49 (01) 85-104
• 7 Pimperton H, Kennedy CR. The impact of early identification of permanent childhood hearing impairment on speech and language outcomes. Arch Dis Child 2012; 97 (07) 648-653
• 8 Ching TY, Day J, Van Buynder P. et al. Language and speech perception of young children with bimodal fitting or bilateral cochlear implants. Cochlear Implants Int 2014; 15 (01) S43-S46
• 9 Moeller MP. Early intervention and language development in children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Pediatrics 2000; 106 (03) E43
• 10 Ching TY, Dillon H, Marnane V. et al. Outcomes of early- and late-identified children at 3 years of age: findings from a prospective population-based study. Ear Hear 2013; 34 (05) 535-552
• 11 Yoshinaga-Itano C, Sedey AL, Coulter DK, Mehl AL. Language of early- and later-identified children with hearing loss. Pediatrics 1998; 102 (05) 1161-1171
• 12 Yoshinaga-Itano C, Sedey AL, Wiggin M, Chung W. Early hearing detection and vocabulary of children with hearing loss. Pediatrics 2017; 140 (02) e20162964
• 13 Moeller MP, Tomblin JB. OCHL Collaboration. Epilogue: conclusions and implications for research and practice. Ear Hear 2015; 36 Suppl 1 (01) 92S-98S
• 14 Davis JM, Shepard NT, Stelmachowicz PG, Gorga MP. Characteristics of hearing-impaired children in the public schools: Part II – Psychoeducational data. J Speech Hear Disord 1981; 46 (02) 130-137
• 15 Stelmachowicz PG, Hoover BM, Lewis DE, Kortekaas RW, Pittman AL. The relation between stimulus context, speech audibility, and perception for normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2000; 43 (04) 902-914
• 16 Moore BC, Stone MA, Füllgrabe C, Glasberg BR, Puria S. Spectro-temporal characteristics of speech at high frequencies, and the potential for restoration of audibility to people with mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Ear Hear 2008; 29 (06) 907-922
• 17 Kimlinger C, McCreery R, Lewis D. High-frequency audibility: the effects of audiometric configuration, stimulus type, and device. J Am Acad Audiol 2015; 26 (02) 128-137
• 18 Kalikow DN, Stevens KN, Elliott LL. Development of a test of speech intelligibility in noise using sentence materials with controlled word predictability. J Acoust Soc Am 1977; 61 (05) 1337-1351
• 19 Ching TY, Dillon H, Byrne D. Speech recognition of hearing-impaired listeners: predictions from audibility and the limited role of high-frequency amplification. J Acoust Soc Am 1998; 103 (02) 1128-1140
• 20 Hogan CA, Turner CW. High-frequency audibility: benefits for hearing-impaired listeners. J Acoust Soc Am 1998; 104 (01) 432-441
• 21 Kortekaas RW, Stelmachowicz PG. Bandwidth effects on children's perception of the inflectional morpheme /s/: acoustical measurements, auditory detection, and clarity rating. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2000; 43 (03) 645-660
• 22 Stelmachowicz PG, Pittman AL, Hoover BM, Lewis DE. Effect of stimulus bandwidth on the perception of /s/ in normal- and hearing-impaired children and adults. J Acoust Soc Am 2001; 110 (04) 2183-2190
• 23 Nittrouer S, Burton LT. The role of early language experience in the development of speech perception and phonological processing abilities: evidence from 5-year-olds with histories of otitis media with effusion and low socioeconomic status. J Commun Disord 2005; 38 (01) 29-63
• 24 Nittrouer S, Burton LT. The role of early language experience in the development of speech perception and language processing abilities in children with hearing loss. Volta Review 2001;103(01):
• 25 Koehlinger KM, Van Horne AJO, Moeller MP. Grammatical outcomes of 3- and 6-year-old children who are hard of hearing. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2013; 56 (05) 1701-1714
• 26 Koehlinger K, Van Horne AO, Oleson J, McCreery R, Moeller MP. The role of sentence position, allomorph, and morpheme type on accurate use of s-related morphemes by children who are hard of hearing. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2015; 58 (02) 396-409
• 27 Spratford M, McLean HH, McCreery R. Relationship of grammatical context on children's recognition of s/z-inflected words. J Am Acad Audiol 2017; 28 (09) 799-809
• 28 Davies B, Xu Rattanasone N, Davis A, Demuth K. The acquisition of productive plural morphology by children with hearing loss. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2020; 63 (02) 552-568
• 29 Apel K. A comprehensive definition of morphological awareness: implications for assessment. Top Lang Disord 2014; 34 (03) 197-209
• 30 Apel K, Wilson-Fowler EB, Brimo D, Perrin NA. Metalinguistic contributions to reading and spelling in second and third grade students. Read Writ 2012; 25 (06) 1283-1305
• 31 Walker EA, Sapp C, Dallapiazza M, Spratford M, McCreery RW, Oleson JJ. Language and reading outcomes in fourth-grade children with mild hearing loss compared to age-matched hearing peers. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2020; 51 (01) 17-28
• 32 Stelmachowicz PG, Pittman AL, Hoover BM, Lewis DE. Aided perception of /s/ and /z/ by hearing-impaired children. Ear Hear 2002; 23 (04) 316-324
• 33 Delage H, Tuller L. Language development and mild-to-moderate hearing loss: does language normalize with age?. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2007; 50 (05) 1300-1313
• 34 Elfenbein JL, Hardin-Jones MA, Davis JM. Oral communication skills of children who are hard of hearing. J Speech Hear Res 1994; 37 (01) 216-226
• 35 McGuckian M, Henry A. The grammatical morpheme deficit in moderate hearing impairment. Int J Lang Commun Disord 2007; 42 (Suppl. 01) 17-36
• 36 Stelmachowicz PG, Lewis DE, Choi S, Hoover B. Effect of stimulus bandwidth on auditory skills in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children. Ear Hear 2007; 28 (04) 483-494
• 37 Haskins J. Kindergarten Phonetically Balanced Word Lists (PBK). St Louis: Auditec; 1949
• 38 Killion MC. AGC circuit particularly for a hearing aid. J Acoust Soc Am 1980; 67 (04) 1415-1415
• 39 Stelmachowicz PG, Nishi K, Choi S. et al. Effects of stimulus bandwidth on the imitation of ish fricatives by normal-hearing children. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2008; 51 (05) 1369-1380
• 40 Duncan GJ, Dowsett CJ, Claessens A. et al. School readiness and later achievement. Dev Psychol 2007; 43 (06) 1428-1446
• 41 Hart B, Risley TR. Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children. Paul H Brookes Publishing; 1995
• 42 Marchman VA, Fernald A. Speed of word recognition and vocabulary knowledge in infancy predict cognitive and language outcomes in later childhood. Dev Sci 2008; 11 (03) F9-F16
• 43 Davis JM, Elfenbein J, Schum R, Bentler RA. Effects of mild and moderate hearing impairments on language, educational, and psychosocial behavior of children. J Speech Hear Disord 1986; 51 (01) 53-62
• 44 Mayne AM, Yoshinaga-Itano C, Sedey AL, Carey A. Expressive vocabulary development of infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing. Volta Review 1998
• 45 Mayne AM, Yoshinaga-Itano C, Sedey AL. Receptive vocabulary development of infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing. Volta Review 1999; 100 (05) 29-52
• 46 Thal D, Desjardin JL, Eisenberg LS. Validity of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories for measuring language abilities in children with cochlear implants. Am J Speech Lang Pathol 2007; 16 (01) 54-64
• 47 Prezbindowski AK, Lederberg AR. Vocabulary assessment of deaf and hard-of-hearing children from infancy through the preschool years. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ 2003; 8 (04) 383-400
• 48 Stelmachowicz PG, Pittman AL, Hoover BM, Lewis DE. Novel-word learning in children with normal hearing and hearing loss. Ear Hear 2004; 25 (01) 47-56
• 49 Gray S. Word learning by preschoolers with specific language impairment: predictors and poor learners. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2004; 47 (05) 1117-1132
• 50 Dollaghan CA. Fast mapping in normal and language-impaired children. J Speech Hear Disord 1987; 52 (03) 218-222
• 51 Oetting JB, Rice ML, Swank LK. Quick incidental learning (QUIL) of words by school-age children with and without SLI. J Speech Hear Res 1995; 38 (02) 434-445
• 52 Rice ML, Buhr J, Oetting JB. Specific-language-impaired children's quick incidental learning of words: the effect of a pause. J Speech Hear Res 1992; 35 (05) 1040-1048
• 53 Rice ML, Oetting JB, Marquis J, Bode J, Pae S. Frequency of input effects on word comprehension of children with specific language impairment. J Speech Hear Res 1994; 37 (01) 106-122
• 54 Rice ML, Buhr JC, Nemeth M. Fast mapping word-learning abilities of language-delayed preschoolers. J Speech Hear Disord 1990; 55 (01) 33-42
• 55 Gilbertson M, Kamhi AG. Novel word learning in children with hearing impairment. J Speech Hear Res 1995; 38 (03) 630-642
• 56 Pittman AL, Lewis DE, Hoover BM, Stelmachowicz PG. Rapid word-learning in normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children: effects of age, receptive vocabulary, and high-frequency amplification. Ear Hear 2005; 26 (06) 619-629
• 57 Lederberg AR, Prezbindowski AK, Spencer PE. Word-learning skills of deaf preschoolers: the development of novel mapping and rapid word-learning strategies. Child Dev 2000; 71 (06) 1571-1585
• 58 Walker EA, McGregor KK. Word learning processes in children with cochlear implants. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2013; 56 (02) 375-387
• 59 Pimperton H, Walker EA. Word learning in children with cochlear implants: examining performance relative to hearing peers and relations with age at implantation. Ear Hear 2018; 39 (05) 980-991
• 60 Walker EA, Holte L, McCreery RW, Spratford M, Page T, Moeller MP. The influence of hearing aid use on outcomes of children with mild hearing loss. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2015; 58 (05) 1611-1625
• 61 Walker EA, Redfern A, Oleson JJ. Linear mixed-model analysis to examine longitudinal trajectories in vocabulary depth and breadth in children who are hard of hearing. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2019; 62 (03) 525-542
• 62 Nation K. Lexical learning and lexical processing in children with developmental language impairments. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 369 (1634): 20120387
• 63 Grosjean F. Spoken word recognition processes and the gating paradigm. Percept Psychophys 1980; 28 (04) 267-283
• 64 Salasoo A, Pisoni DB. Interaction of knowledge sources in spoken word identification. J Mem Lang 1985; 24 (02) 210-231
• 65 Lewis D, Kopun J, McCreery R. et al. Effect of context and hearing loss on time-gated word recognition in children. Ear Hear 2017; 38 (03) e180-e192
• 66 Grosjean F. Gating. Lang Cogn Process 1996; 11 (06) 597-604
• 67 Walley AC. Spoken word recognition by young children and adults. Cogn Dev 1988; 3 (02) 137-165
• 68 Metsala JL. An examination of word frequency and neighborhood density in the development of spoken-word recognition. Mem Cognit 1997; 25 (01) 47-56
• 69 Garlock VM, Walley AC, Metsala JL. Age-of-acquisition, word frequency, and neighborhood density effects on spoken word recognition by children and adults. J Mem Lang 2001; 45 (03) 468-492
• 70 Walker EA, Kessler D, Klein K. et al. Time-gated word recognition in children: effects of auditory access, age, and semantic context. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2019; 62 (07) 2519-2534
• 71 Pittman AL, Stelmachowicz PG, Lewis DE, Hoover BM. Spectral characteristics of speech at the ear: implications for amplification in children. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2003; 46 (03) 649-657
• 72 Stelmachowicz PG, Pittman AL, Hoover BM, Lewis DE, Moeller MP. The importance of high-frequency audibility in the speech and language development of children with hearing loss. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2004; 130 (05) 556-562
• 73 Moeller MP, Hoover B, Putman C. et al. Vocalizations of infants with hearing loss compared with infants with normal hearing: Part I – Phonetic development. Ear Hear 2007; 28 (05) 605-627
• 74 Moeller MP, Hoover B, Putman C. et al. Vocalizations of infants with hearing loss compared with infants with normal hearing: Part II – Transition to words. Ear Hear 2007; 28 (05) 628-642
• 75 Alexander JM, Kopun JG, Stelmachowicz PG. Effects of frequency compression and frequency transposition on fricative and affricate perception in listeners with normal hearing and mild to moderate hearing loss. Ear Hear 2014; 35 (05) 519-532
• 76 Brennan MA, McCreery R, Kopun J. et al. Paired comparisons of nonlinear frequency compression, extended bandwidth, and restricted bandwidth hearing aid processing for children and adults with hearing loss. J Am Acad Audiol 2014; 25 (10) 983-998
• 77 McCreery RW, Alexander J, Brennan MA, Hoover B, Kopun J, Stelmachowicz PG. The influence of audibility on speech recognition with nonlinear frequency compression for children and adults with hearing loss. Ear Hear 2014; 35 (04) 440-447
• 78 Alexander JM. Individual Variability in Recognition of Frequency-Lowered Speech. Thieme Medical Publishers; 2013: 086-109
• 79 Alexander JM, Masterson K. Effects of WDRC release time and number of channels on output SNR and speech recognition. Ear Hear 2015; 36 (02) e35-e49