Background: There are many clinically available tests for the assessment of auditory processing
skills in children and adults. However, there is limited data available on the maturational
effects on the performance on these tests.
Purpose: The current study investigated maturational effects on auditory processing abilities
using three psychophysical measures: temporal modulation transfer function (TMTF),
iterated ripple noise (IRN) perception, and spectral ripple discrimination (SRD).
Research Design: A cross-sectional study. Three groups of subjects were tested: 10 adults (18–30 yr),
10 older children (12–18 yr), and 10 young children (8–11 yr)
Data Collection and Analysis: Temporal envelope processing was measured by obtaining thresholds for amplitude modulation
detection as a function of modulation frequency (TMTF; 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 Hz).
Temporal fine structure processing was measured using IRN, and spectral processing
was measured using SRD.
Results: The results showed that young children had significantly higher modulation thresholds
at 4 Hz (TMTF) compared to the other two groups and poorer SRD scores compared to
adults. The results on IRN did not differ across groups.
Conclusions: The results suggest that different aspects of auditory processing mature at different
age periods and these maturational effects need to be considered while assessing auditory
processing in children.
Key Words Auditory processing - temporal processing - spectral processing
