How early hearing access shapes babies' speech sound learning
The impact of auditory access on the development of speech perception
This project looks at how differences in hearing access affect speech-sound learning in infants who are hard-of-hearing compared with infants who hear normally.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Colorado Denver NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Aurora, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11376992 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your child is hard-of-hearing, researchers will follow infants from the first months of life to measure how well they learn to tell speech sounds apart compared with babies with normal hearing. They will combine listening tests and age-appropriate behavioral measures with noninvasive brain recordings to track how auditory cue access and device use relate to perception over time. Families may be asked to bring children for multiple visits and provide information about hearing-device settings and everyday language exposure. The team will use these longitudinal data to map typical and atypical speech-perception development and lay the groundwork for more personalized intervention plans.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are infants and young children diagnosed with hearing loss (especially in the first year) and age-matched infants with normal hearing for comparison.
Not a fit: Older children and adults, or children without any hearing concerns, are unlikely to benefit directly from this infant-focused research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help tailor hearing interventions and device settings to each child's early needs to improve speech perception.
How similar studies have performed: Previous studies show that early language exposure shapes speech perception in normally hearing infants, but applying similar longitudinal brain and behavioral mapping to infants who are hard-of-hearing is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Aurora, UNITED STATES
- University of Colorado Denver — Aurora, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Uhler, Kristin Michelle — University of Colorado Denver
- Study coordinator: Uhler, Kristin Michelle
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.