PURPOSE: To compare the clinical efficacy of visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) with animated toy animal reinforcement (AVRA) to the efficacy of VRA with video reinforcement (VVRA) in children age 16 to 24 months in a fast-paced medical practice. METHOD: The 145 participants (age 16 to 24 months) were referred by either their primary care physician or an otolaryngology practitioner (physician or nurse practitioner) for audiologic assessment. Children were assigned in a counterbalanced manner to either the AVRA or VVRA group. RESULTS: Significantly more threshold estimates were obtained with AVRA (M = 5.52) than with VVRA (M = 3.47). There were no significant differences in performance based on age, hearing status, or gender. CONCLUSIONS: Number and relative strength of the visual reinforcers used are posited as the main reasons for the disparate outcomes. Clinical practices that test large numbers of children with VRA would be well-served to have both AVRA and VVRA available to meet the needs of individual patients.
PURPOSE: To compare the clinical efficacy of visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) with animated toy animal reinforcement (AVRA) to the efficacy of VRA with video reinforcement (VVRA) in children age 16 to 24 months in a fast-paced medical practice. METHOD: The 145 participants (age 16 to 24 months) were referred by either their primary care physician or an otolaryngology practitioner (physician or nurse practitioner) for audiologic assessment. Children were assigned in a counterbalanced manner to either the AVRA or VVRA group. RESULTS: Significantly more threshold estimates were obtained with AVRA (M = 5.52) than with VVRA (M = 3.47). There were no significant differences in performance based on age, hearing status, or gender. CONCLUSIONS: Number and relative strength of the visual reinforcers used are posited as the main reasons for the disparate outcomes. Clinical practices that test large numbers of children with VRA would be well-served to have both AVRA and VVRA available to meet the needs of individual patients.