McGarrigle Ronan, Dawes Piers, Stewart Andrew J, Kuchinsky Stefanie E, Munro Kevin J
Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK; Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK.
J Exp Child Psychol. 2017 Sep;161:95-112. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.006. Epub 2017 May 12.
Stress and fatigue from effortful listening may compromise well-being, learning, and academic achievement in school-aged children. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) typical of those in school classrooms on listening effort (behavioral and pupillometric) and listening-related fatigue (self-report and pupillometric) in a group of school-aged children. A sample of 41 normal-hearing children aged 8-11years performed a narrative speech-picture verification task in a condition with recommended levels of background noise ("ideal": +15dB SNR) and a condition with typical classroom background noise levels ("typical": -2dB SNR). Participants showed increased task-evoked pupil dilation in the typical listening condition compared with the ideal listening condition, consistent with an increase in listening effort. No differences were found between listening conditions in terms of performance accuracy and response time on the behavioral task. Similarly, no differences were found between listening conditions in self-report and pupillometric markers of listening-related fatigue. This is the first study to (a) examine listening-related fatigue in children using pupillometry and (b) demonstrate physiological evidence consistent with increased listening effort while listening to spoken narratives despite ceiling-level task performance accuracy. Understanding the physiological mechanisms that underpin listening-related effort and fatigue could inform intervention strategies and ultimately mitigate listening difficulties in children.
费力聆听所产生的压力和疲劳可能会损害学龄儿童的幸福感、学习能力和学业成绩。本研究的目的是调查学校教室中典型的信噪比（SNR）对一组学龄儿童的聆听努力程度（行为和瞳孔测量方面）以及与聆听相关的疲劳（自我报告和瞳孔测量方面）的影响。41名8至11岁听力正常的儿童参与了一项叙述性言语-图片验证任务，分别在具有推荐背景噪声水平的条件下（“理想”：信噪比为+15dB）和具有典型教室背景噪声水平的条件下（“典型”：信噪比为-2dB）进行。与理想聆听条件相比，参与者在典型聆听条件下任务诱发的瞳孔扩张增加，这与聆听努力程度的增加相一致。在行为任务的表现准确性和反应时间方面，不同聆听条件之间未发现差异。同样，在与聆听相关的疲劳的自我报告和瞳孔测量指标方面，不同聆听条件之间也未发现差异。这是第一项（a）使用瞳孔测量法研究儿童与聆听相关的疲劳，以及（b）证明尽管任务表现准确性达到上限水平，但在听叙述性言语时生理证据表明聆听努力程度增加的研究。了解支撑与聆听相关的努力和疲劳的生理机制可为干预策略提供依据，并最终减轻儿童的聆听困难。
