Evaluation of cochlear implanted children's voices.

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Cochlear implants (CI) aid communication in deaf children but voice quality often differs from normal-hearing peers.
• Objective and subjective voice analysis are crucial for understanding CI users' speech development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the voice characteristics of children with cochlear implants (CI) to those of normal-hearing children.
• To identify specific acoustic and perceptual differences in the speech of CI users.

Main Methods:

• Compared voice parameters (pitch, intensity, fluency, pauses, articulation, pleasantness, formants, duration) between a group of 8 children with CI and a control group.
• Utilized the French standard text 'La bise et le soleil' for phonetic material analysis.

Main Results:

• Significant differences observed in intensity variations between CI users and the control group.
• Voice formants in CI users were not within typical normal ranges, though assessment was challenging.
• The most prominent difference was in speaking duration, with CI users exhibiting altered speech timing.

Conclusions:

• Cochlear implant use impacts speech production, particularly in terms of intensity modulation and speaking duration.
• The findings highlight areas for targeted intervention in speech rehabilitation for children with CI.
• Further research using this methodology can refine CI speech therapy strategies.