Abstract
To compare the acoustic and perceptual-auditory results of the hearing impaired children and adolescents with hearing pairs and to correlate these results with parents' reports regarding speech auditory perception. The participants were divided into two groups: Group I, 20 hearing-impaired children and adolescents and Group II, 20 children and adolescents with normal hearing. Acoustic analysis of the vowel /a/ and perceptual-auditory assessment of the vowel /a/ and speech were performed. The speech auditory perception of the GI was assessed using the Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale and the Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale with adaptation for adolescent participants. The acoustic and perceptual-auditory voice results of the GI and GII were compared and these results were correlated with the performance in the auditory perception of the GI group. The groups I and II presented similar results, differing statistically in the long-term frequency variation (vF0) and the long-term amplitude variation (vAm) parameters of the vowel /a/ and speech resonance parameter. It was found a negative correlation between auditory perception performance with jitter, vF0 and general degree of vowel /a/. The vocal quality in GI was similar to their hearing peers in almost all the vocal parameters that were analyzed. The auditory perception influenced jitter, vF0 and general degree of voice parameters, in which hearing-impaired children and adolescents who presented higher scores for auditory perception were also able to keep a more controlled vocal emission.
Highlights
IntroductionTechnological devices that enable access to speech sounds, such as hearing aids (HA) and cochlear implants (CI), are very efficient at remediating hearing loss
Hearing loss can cause communication problems related to speech and voice
Participants selected for Group II had hearing thresholds within normal parameters, confirmed by audiological evaluation, and absence of changes in vocal quality, confirmed by perceptual-auditory evaluation performed by a speech therapist with expertise in voice
Summary
Technological devices that enable access to speech sounds, such as hearing aids (HA) and cochlear implants (CI), are very efficient at remediating hearing loss. Among their advantages, benefits regarding speech perception and, language development stand out[2]. The use of HA and CI allows balanced speech production, as these technological resources provide hearing feedback, which is indispensable for vocal control[3]. Studies have proven the benefits provided by the use of these devices for the voice, among them, greater control of the fundamental frequency (F0) and reduction and balance of noise levels, acoustic signal disturbance and perceptualauditory parameters of roughness, tension and pitch[4,5,6]
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