[Speech intelligibility in a free sound field in normally hearing children aged 5-17 years].

Speech audiometry plays an important role in the diagnostics of hearing-impaired people. Speech testing in children is possible from the age of 4-5 years when appropriate age and development speech material is selected. The efficiency of hearing aids or implants fitting is evaluated in a free sound field with the presentation of an acoustic stimulus through loudspeakers. The analysis of the results requires comparison with the data of normally hearing individuals received under the same testing conditions.

The aim: Of this study is to obtain normative data for speech audiometry for children aged 5-17 years in a free sound field.

Material and methods: 74 normally hearing children aged 5-17 years were examined. Speech testing consisted of two parts (recognition of monosyllabic words and sentences, RuMatrix-test) and was performed in a free sound field in quiet and in noise. For children aged 5-10 years, phonetically balanced tables of monosyllabic words for children and the Simplified RuMatrix-test were used. For children aged 7-17 years, phonetically balanced tables of monosyllabic words for adults and the RuMatrix-test were used. Children were divided into age subgroups.

Results: Normative data for speech audiometry in a free sound field were obtained for children aged 5-17 years. The need for the use of word tables developed for children in the age subgroup of 8 years and younger was shown. The noted difference in average speech recognition scores between different age subgroups, as well as between older children and adults, indicates the continuation of the maturation processes of the central auditory system in childhood and adolescence.