AUDITORY SKILLS FOR SCHOOL SUCCESS
Awareness: Detection – Localization – Auditory Attention

DETECTION
Detection is the most basic of listening tasks, as it requires the listener to determine the presence or absence of sound, or of a particular sound. For children who have typical auditory development, detection of sound begins in the third trimester of pregnancy and continues to develop during the first year of life. (Werner) During a hearing screening, the technician plays a tone and the client responds by raising a hand. This is a simple detection task. During a more extensive evaluation, the volume of the tone could be decreased to the point at which the client no longer hears it. That is the point at which detection ceases. This point is called the threshold. When we read an audiogram, the thresholds for each frequency, or pitch, of sound are marked, often with Xs and Os, to designate hearing levels at the left (X) and right (O). DETECTION AND STUDENTS WITH HEARING LOSS IN THE SCHOOL SETTING Professionals working with students who have a hearing loss should not forget that the student may not be hearing a particular sound, due to device failure, hearing fluctuation or a variety of other reasons. A change in ability to detect or identify a sound can often be discovered quickly during a Daily Listening Check. LINK Assessment of Detection


LOCALIZATION


AUDITORY ATTENTION


