At what age interval is Conditioned Play Audiometry typically effective?

Conditioned Play Audiometry (CPA) is most effective between the ages of 2 to 5 years. At this stage of development, children are typically capable of following simple instructions and can engage in play-based tasks that serve as a method for assessing their hearing.

During this age range, children become more accustomed to structured play and can learn to associate a sound played through headphones with a specific action, like dropping a toy into a bucket when they hear a sound. This interactive method not only helps keep the child’s attention but also makes the hearing assessment feel like a game rather than a clinical test, which can reduce anxiety and improve accuracy in results.

Younger children, such as those in the 0-6 months interval, are not developmentally ready for this type of testing, as they lack the motor skills and understanding necessary to engage in conditioned responses. The 1-2 years age group also presents challenges because toddlers may not yet be able to reliably respond to the task or understand the concept of playing a game with auditory stimuli. At ages 5-7, children typically transition to more formal testing methods, such as pure-tone audiometry, which better suits their cognitive and verbal skills. Hence, the interval of 2-5