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A new study from Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) published in the Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology reveals for the first time that children's central auditory systems are still developing before puberty, and their ability to perform binaural pitch fusion may become a key therapeutic target for improving speech perception in hearing-impaired children.
Binaural pitch fusion is the process by which the brain integrates the different pitch signals received by the left and right ears into a single auditory perception. This ability is directly related to the well-known "cocktail party effect" – the human ability to selectively focus on specific sounds (such as conversations) in a noisy environment and suppress background noise.
Clinically, patients with "broad binaural fusion" often face difficulties in understanding speech in noisy environments due to the inability to effectively separate multiple sound sources, which seriously affects their learning and social interactions.
The OHSU team tracked the auditory development of children aged 6-14 over a long period of time and found that:
- Binaural fusion is also immature in children with normal hearing: its manifestations are similar to those in adults with hearing loss, but it gradually becomes more acute with age, indicating that central auditory connections continue to develop during childhood and may depend on the accumulation of auditory experience.
- Critical developmental window: Binaural fusion ability improves significantly between the ages of 6 and 14, suggesting that pre-adolescence is an important stage for the plasticity of the auditory system.
- Intervention potential for children with hearing loss: Comparing children using hearing aids and cochlear implants, researchers found that different hearing devices may affect the developmental trajectory of integration ability, which provides a basis for personalized treatment plans.
"Most surprising is that the initial binaural fusion in hearing children is similar to that in hearing-impaired adults, which overturns our traditional understanding of auditory maturation," emphasized Professor Lina Reiss, the study's corresponding author. "This finding reveals a longer 'prolonged period' of auditory development in children, providing a valuable window for clinical intervention."
"Improving children's speech recognition in noise is not only related to hearing rehabilitation, but also directly affects their academic performance and social development," said audiologist Jennifer Fowler, co-author of the study.
"We should consider interventions to create a quieter classroom environment for learning. For example, using directional microphone systems in classrooms to reduce background noise and ensure that children can clearly hear the teacher's voice. At the same time, music training has been shown to be an effective way to enhance binaural fusion ability, so clinical music therapy programs may be developed in the future." said Jennifer Fowler.
The research team plans to use neuroimaging to track the structural and functional changes in children's auditory cortex during development to uncover the biological basis of binaural fusion. "Understanding the neural circuits driving this process will help us design more targeted interventions," Professor Reiss said. "For example, cross-sensory training or neuromodulation techniques could accelerate the maturation of auditory pathways."
More information: Lina AJ Reiss et al, Binaural Fusion Sharpens on a Scale of Octaves During Pre-adolescence in Children with Normal Hearing, Hearing Aids, and Bimodal Cochlear Implants, but not Bilateral Cochlear Implants, Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology (2025). DOI: 10.1007/s10162-025-00975-4
Information source: medicalxpress
Note: This article is reprinted from 21db Acoustics