LOS ANGELES -- Britney Spears failed in her latest attempt to regain access to her children on Tuesday, nearly two months after her visitation rights were suspended following fears for her mental health.

Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon ruled in a closed hearing that there would be no changes made to an existing order that prevents the troubled singer from seeing baby boys Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1.

Spears has not seen her children since January 3, when she was taken from her Beverly Hills home by paramedics after a stand-off that began when she refused to hand the boys to ex-husband Kevin Federline's bodyguard.

Neither Spears nor Federline was in court for Tuesday's hearing, the latest episode in a series of legal wrangles involving the pop-star.

A separate battle is being waged over who should handle the singer's estate and business affairs, with a court last week extending an order that places Spears' father in control of the star's assets.

Spears was granted conservatorship of his daughter's assets earlier this month amid renewed fears for the singer's mental health after she was admitted to the psychiatric unit of a Los Angeles hospital.

It was the second mental health scare in less than a month for Spears after the episode in January.

Spears' career has appeared to be locked in a downward spiral ever since her split from Federline in 2006.

Last year she was repeatedly photographed out partying while wearing no underwear, bizarrely shaved her head at a public salon, and attacked a paparazzi's car with an umbrella before finally entering rehab.

Spears shot to superstardom in late 1998 with her smash-hit debut album "Baby One More Time," which she followed with another chart-topping success the following year, "Oops! ... I Did It Again."