Understanding how children hear in noisy environments
Official title: ADMIN SUPPLEMENT: DEVELOPMENT OF FUNCTIONAL SPATIAL HEARING IN REVERBERATION
Funded at Father Flanagan's Boys' Home · NIH-11104665 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how kids aged 6 to 18 hear sounds in places with a lot of echo, which can make it hard to understand speech, to help improve hearing devices for children with hearing loss.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Father Flanagan's Boys' Home NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boys Town, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2024 |
| Award (this year) | $128,238 |
| NIH project number | 3R21DC020532-03S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11104665 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are children aged 6 to 18 years, particularly those with normal hearing or hearing loss.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who are adults or those with severe auditory processing disorders may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research investigates how children aged 6 to 18 perceive sounds in environments with excessive echo, which can make it difficult to understand speech and sounds. By using auditory virtual reality, the study simulates real-world listening situations to assess how reverberation affects children's spatial hearing abilities. The goal is to identify developmental patterns in hearing that can inform better fitting of hearing devices for children with hearing loss. This approach aims to fill a critical gap in understanding how children process auditory information in challenging listening conditions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to improved hearing device fittings and better auditory experiences for children in noisy environments.
How similar studies have gone: While the approach of using auditory virtual reality is innovative, similar studies have shown promise in understanding auditory perception in children.
Where this research is happening
-
Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
Boys Town, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Peng, Zhao Ellen — Father Flanagan's Boys' Home
- Study coordinator: Peng, Zhao Ellen
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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.