 The study examined the effects of classroom noise and background speech on speech perception and listening comprehension in first and third grade children and adults. It was found that noise and background speech can have a negative impact on children's ability to understand spoken words and instructions. Additionally, it was observed that children are more affected by background noise than adults. Furthermore, the study showed that reverberation time has a greater effect on children's speech perception than on adults. Finally, the study revealed that children do not consciously recognize the detrimental effects of noise and reverberation. This article was authored by Maria Klutte, Thomas Lachmanner and Marcus Mays.