Can babies tell the difference between dissimilar sounds?

Our research study seeks to improve infant hearing tests.

Testing infants can be tricky. They cannot reliably tell us what they hear until they are older and developmentally able. Our study uses a proven method in a new way, to look at infant brain activity involved in sound discrimination.

The method takes advantage of a few, small adhesive sensors placed around the head, to give an early indication of hearing ability. This technique has to potential to support developmental speech and language milestones, by refining hearing aid validation for infants with hearing loss, ultimately changing clinical practice for children in NZ.

  • We are seeking children around 1 year of age or younger for the study.
  • We welcome infants with typical hearing, and infants with hearing loss.

If you would like your baby to take part in this important study towards improving clinical practice in Aotearoa New Zealand, please read the Participant information sheet for information and/or to consent to your child’s involvement:

Contact

If you have any questions, please contact the researchers:

Statement of ethics approval

This study received ethical approval from the Auckland Health Research Ethics Committee on 21 June 2021, expiring 19 January 2024.
Reference number: AH3504