Auditory perception and speech identification in children with cochlear implants tested with the EARS protocol.

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Audiology
• Neuroscience
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Cochlear implant (CI) outcomes in children depend on implantation age and post-surgery experience.
• Auditory perception and speech identification are key metrics for assessing CI efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate changes in auditory perception and speech identification in pediatric cochlear implant users.
• To analyze the impact of age at implantation and experience on CI performance.

Main Methods:

• Study included 71 children with cochlear implants, divided into age groups (over 7, under 7, and under 3 with meningitis-induced deafness).
• Children received Nucleus 22, Nucleus 24, or Med El C40+ implants.
• Auditory and speech tests (EARS protocol, LiP, MTP, MAIS) were administered pre-operatively and up to 24 months post-implantation.

Main Results:

• All children showed improvement within 6-12 months post-implantation.
• Children over 7 had higher pre-op scores but experienced an initial drop; younger children showed faster recovery and caught up by 12 months.
• Children implanted under 3 after meningitis showed slower initial progress but reached comparable levels by 18+ months.

Conclusions:

• Age at cochlear implantation significantly influences the rate and pattern of auditory and speech performance improvement.
• Early implantation in children under 7 facilitates faster adaptation and performance gains.
• The chosen evaluation tools effectively demonstrated performance improvements across all age groups post-CI.