現今聽覺障礙的定義強調活動參與的限制，而隨著聽覺輔助科技進步，純音聽檢、語詞辨識等傳統檢測工具已難以評估聽覺障礙的影響。聆聽負擔綜合評估受測者在生理、心理、社會環境等因素下，為達成聆聽目標所投入的認知資源。評估結果能反應出聽損兒童為達到與聽常同儕相同的語音辨識表現而承受更多聆聽負擔的真實情況。聆聽負擔以認知能量理論為理論基礎，多種因素影響聆聽者認知資源的分配，目前測量方法包括主觀測量、行為測量與生理測量，具有實務與學術的應用價值。

The current definition of hard of hearing emphasizes the participation restriction. With the advancement of hearing aid technology, pure tone and speech audiometry have made it difficult to assess the impact of a hard of hearing. The listening effort comprehensively evaluates the cognitive resources invested by the testee to achieve his or her listening goal. The evaluation results can reflect the true situation of children with hearing loss who have expended more listening effort to achieve the same speech recognition performance as their peers with normal hearing. Listening effort is based on the theory of cognitive energy. Many factors affect the allocation of listeners' cognitive resources. Current measurement methods include subjective, behavioral, and physiological measurements. There are opportunities in practical application and academic research.