Speech Processing to Improve the Perception of Speech in Background Noise for Children With Auditory Processing Disorder and Typically Developing Peers.

Only 18 children were tested, and the groups were small. The study measured keyword identification in a sound booth or audiometric room, not everyday classroom listening. Some APD children had borderline SCAN-3:C scores, and one child was described as having a moderate probability of dyslexia. The APD group had poorer audiometric thresholds than the control group, so subtle hearing loss may have contributed to group differences. Three APD children had an interaural threshold difference of 15 to 20 dB.

The supplied metadata lists non-U.S. government research support, but the article text does not name a funder or author disclosure. It says participants were paid for their time and travel expenses.

Do not conclude that SSDRC processing solves speech-in-noise difficulty in classrooms. It improved word identification in the laboratory, especially in speech-shaped noise, but the mean gain was 7.3 percentage points with a competing speaker, and children with APD still performed worse than controls in that condition.