Fred Bess

This project will result in a validated measure to assess listening fatigue for children in grades 1-12 with hearing loss and other communication-based disabilities. Previous studies indicate that school-age children with hearing loss and specific language impairment are at increased risk for listening fatigue in their classes. Increased listening effort and the associated stress and fatigue can jeopardize the ability to learn, thus increasing the risk for problems in school. The development...

Although research has demonstrated that children with hearing loss (CHL) experience difficulties with speech recognition under noisy conditions, less is known about the listening effort expended and its effects on hearing-related fatigue. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether school-aged children with mild to moderate hearing loss experience greater fatigue caused by listening effort in noisy school classrooms than children without hearing loss. The researchers will compare CHL...