988368
Thu, Jul 30, 2026
Accepted article
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1- Pediatric Neurorehabilitation Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
2- Department of Speech Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
3- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Substance Abuse and Dependence Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
4- Rehabilitation Research Center, Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
2- Department of Speech Therapy, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
3- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Substance Abuse and Dependence Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
4- Rehabilitation Research Center, Department of Audiology, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract: (51 Views)
Objectives: Unilateral hearing loss (UHL) in children may impair phonological awareness, yet it remains unclear whether all phonological subskills are equally affected. This study examined differential vulnerability of nonword-based phonological manipulation subskills in children with UHL under quiet and noisy conditions.
Methods: Twenty-six Persian-speaking first and second grades (13 UHL, 13 normal-hearing) participated. Phonological awareness was assessed using five nonword subtests (blending, segmentation, initial, medial, and final phoneme deletion) in quiet and noise (+5 dB SNR). Working memory was controlled using the backward Digit Span test.
Results: Children with UHL showed lower performance than normal-hearing peers across several phonological awareness subtests, particularly under noisy condition (p < 0.05). Differences were more definite in complex tasks such as initial-phoneme deletion. Effect sizes indicated consistent group differences despite variability in statistical significance. No significant improvement across grades was observed in either the UHL or normal-hearing group (p > 0.05).
Discussion: It seems, phonological awareness deficits in UHL are subskill-specific. Initial phoneme deletion is most vulnerable, whereas final phoneme deletion is relatively robust. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions focusing on complex phoneme manipulation and optimized classroom listening environments for children with unilateral hearing loss.
Methods: Twenty-six Persian-speaking first and second grades (13 UHL, 13 normal-hearing) participated. Phonological awareness was assessed using five nonword subtests (blending, segmentation, initial, medial, and final phoneme deletion) in quiet and noise (+5 dB SNR). Working memory was controlled using the backward Digit Span test.
Results: Children with UHL showed lower performance than normal-hearing peers across several phonological awareness subtests, particularly under noisy condition (p < 0.05). Differences were more definite in complex tasks such as initial-phoneme deletion. Effect sizes indicated consistent group differences despite variability in statistical significance. No significant improvement across grades was observed in either the UHL or normal-hearing group (p > 0.05).
Discussion: It seems, phonological awareness deficits in UHL are subskill-specific. Initial phoneme deletion is most vulnerable, whereas final phoneme deletion is relatively robust. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions focusing on complex phoneme manipulation and optimized classroom listening environments for children with unilateral hearing loss.
Article type: Original Research Articles |
Subject:
Speech therapy
Received: 2026/03/24 | Accepted: 2026/07/28
Received: 2026/03/24 | Accepted: 2026/07/28
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This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 (CC-By-NC 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.
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