Does background noise help kids with ADHD hear speech better?
Adding moderate background noise eliminates the deficit children with ADHD symptoms have in recognizing speech in quiet environments.
Source
Differences in Speech Recognition Between Children with Attention Deficits and Typically Developed Children Disappear When Exposed to 65 dB of Auditory Noise
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Does background noise help kids with ADHD hear speech better?
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
49 secondary school boys participated in the study.
Forty-nine secondary school boys between 9 and 10 years of age ( M = 10,2) participated in the study.
15 participants were included in the final ADHD symptom group.
Thus in all 15 participants were included in the ADHD symptom group and the remaining 31 participants constituted the typically developed control group.
What they did
Researchers tested 49 boys aged 9 to 10 years. They compared 15 children with ADHD symptoms against 31 typically developed controls on a speech recognition task. This task was completed in absolute quiet and in 65 dB of auditory noise.
What they found
In quiet conditions, children with ADHD symptoms needed speech to be 2 dB louder than controls to recognize it. However, in the 65 dB noise condition, this difference disappeared completely. Both groups performed in parity in the noise condition.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Because the sample only included 15 boys in the ADHD symptom group, these results must be treated as preliminary. The findings cannot be generalized to girls since no girls were included. Additionally, because the study was conducted in a school setting rather than a soundproof room, ambient noise may have affected the quiet threshold measurements.
Key terms
- Stochastic Resonance
- A phenomenon where the addition of a moderate level of random noise to a weak signal improves its detection by a sensory system.
- Moderate Brain Arousal model
- A cognitive theory proposing that individuals with lower dopamine levels need more external noise to optimize their attention and performance.
- Speech Recognition Threshold
- The minimum signal intensity required for a listener to correctly recognize a specified percentage of words.
- Supra-threshold Stochastic Resonance
- A type of stochastic resonance occurring when both the signal and the added noise are well above the baseline hearing threshold.
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What is the clinical estimate of the overlap between Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD) and the inattentive subtype of ADHD?
Common questions
Why would background noise improve speech recognition in some children?
According to the Moderate Brain Arousal model, children with attention deficits have lower baseline dopamine levels, which acts as internal neural noise. Moderate external noise can boost brain signals through stochastic resonance, making faint speech easier to recognize.
What level of noise was used in this study?
The researchers used a continuous, slightly modulated noise at a constant level of 65 dB SPL, which mimics white noise and normal conversation volume.
How was the ADHD symptom group composed?
The symptom group consisted of 15 boys total. This included 9 boys who had formal clinical diagnoses from healthcare providers, and 6 boys from the control group who scored highly for ADHD symptoms on parent and teacher ratings.
Did the typically developing children perform worse in noise?
No, the 65 dB noise did not impair the control group's speech recognition compared to the quiet condition in a way that fell below the ADHD group; instead, both groups achieved nearly identical thresholds in the noisy condition.
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