ABSTRACT
Numerous studies have shown that otitis media (OM) during infancy has a negative impact on language development later in life. Few studies have examined the effect of OM on linguistic and prelinguistic behavior during infancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of OM on the development of canonical babble in children who experienced at least one episode during the period birth through 6 months of age, in comparison with children who did not experience OM during this period. The results show a consistently lower rate of canonical syllable production among children with early onset OM, when compared to children with later onset OM, during the period 6 through 18 months of age. In addition, a relationship between canonical babbling ability and expressive vocabulary size was observed at 18 months of age.
Subject(s)
Language Development Disorders/diagnosis , Language Development Disorders/etiology , Otitis Media/complications , Speech Disorders/diagnosis , Speech Disorders/etiology , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Speech AcousticsABSTRACT
Various studies indicate that temporal characteristics of articulated subphonemic segments and syllables change as a function of age. The purpose of the present study was to investigate age-related changes in the production of a phonetic contrast--in particular that of the stop consonant [b] versus the semivowel [w]. Thirty-nine subjects with normal hearing and belonging to three age groups (20-30, 50-60, 70-80 years old) were tested. Acoustic analyses of the recorded syllables [b alpha] and [w alpha] indicated that duration of syllables, prevoicing, release, and vowel transition became significantly longer with the speaker's age, except for the vowel transition in the [w] context. However, acoustic cues, such as the difference in amplitude change in the vicinity of the release segment, were not sensitive to the effects of aging.
Subject(s)
Aging/psychology , Phonetics , Speech Acoustics , Speech Intelligibility , Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Reference Values , Sound SpectrographyABSTRACT
The authors assessed age differences on self-reported hearing problems on the performance of auditory tasks in the natural environment. The Your Hearing questionnaire was administered to 265 respondents (aged 20-94 years). Both the degree and variability of self-reported hearing problems were found to increase significantly with age, including those associated with listening to speech under conditions of background noise, the perception of normal and distorted speech, and the perception of short segments of speech and the perception of high-pitched sounds. Experienced hearing problems were greater for Ss who judged their hearing as being of poor quality. Findings suggest that self-report measures can provide valuable insights into the impact of age-related hearing disability on daily life that are not provided by more traditional laboratory-based studies.
Subject(s)
Aging , Hearing Disorders , Self-Assessment , Activities of Daily Living , Adult , Age Factors , Aged , Communication , Female , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
The possibilities for using acoustical analysis as a noninvasive measure of the degree of obstruction created by an enlarged pharyngeal tonsil (adenoid) are discussed. The method capitalizes on the relationship which exists between a specific obstruction of the respiratory tract and the resulting respiratory sound. Results indicate that as the adenoid increases in size relative to the size of the nasopharynx, the dominant components of the respiratory sound spectrum shift towards a higher frequency range. Furthermore, the correlation found between the assessments of the obstruction due to various sizes of the adenoid by radiological methods and acoustical analyses supports the theoretical prediction that information on the size of the constriction is carried by the respiratory sound. Therefore, careful analyses of the acoustic patterns in the respiratory sound can assist in identifying constrictions and monitoring the constriction changes in the upper respiratory tract.
Subject(s)
Adenoids/pathology , Respiratory Sounds/physiopathology , Acoustics , Adenoidectomy , Adenoids/diagnostic imaging , Adenoids/physiopathology , Airway Obstruction/diagnostic imaging , Airway Obstruction/pathology , Airway Obstruction/physiopathology , Child , Child, Preschool , Humans , Hyperplasia , Hypertrophy , Models, Biological , Nasopharyngeal Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Nasopharyngeal Diseases/pathology , Nasopharyngeal Diseases/physiopathology , Nasopharynx/diagnostic imaging , Nasopharynx/pathology , Nasopharynx/physiopathology , Pulmonary Ventilation/physiology , Radiography , Respiratory Sounds/classification , Sound SpectrographyABSTRACT
Non-invasive procedures are proposed to aid the diagnosis of childhood laryngotracheal pathology and to monitor the course of such disease. The procedures capitalize on the one-to-one relationship which exists between the acoustic phenomena (stridors) associated with respiration and the configuration of the respiratory tract. Careful analysis of these acoustic patterns can thus assist in identifying and localizing constrictions, in diagnosis, and in monitoring disease severity. Based on the acoustical analysis of the stridor generated by children with congenital stridor, subglottal laryngitis, and trachea stenosis, the present paper demonstrates that a close relationship exists between the specific pathology and the spectrum of the associated respiratory stridor.
