Infant speech perception in noise and vocabulary outcomes

Abstract

This study attempted to investigate the relationship between infant speech perception in noise and vocabulary outcomes. Newman (2005) conducted a series of studies to determine if infants were able to perceive their own name in the context of background noise. It was found that at five months, infants could perceive their own name when the signal-to-noise ratio was at least 10 dB and at thirteen months, infants were able to perceive their own name with a signal-to-noise ratio of at least 5 dB. Children who had participated in this study as infants returned to be assessed in terms of vocabulary and non-verbal intelligence at approximately five years of age. Children were divided into two groups depending on their success as infants and compared on these measures. No significant relationship was found between any of the measures of vocabulary or non-verbal intelligence and initial performance on the speech perception task.