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Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Determining early speech development in children with cochlear implants using the ELFRA-2 parental questionnaire.
1Cochlea-Implant Centrum Sued, Berner Strasse 16, Wuerzburg, Germany. birgit.may-mederake@web.de
International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology
|April 3, 2012
Summary
Early cochlear implant (CI) use in children under 24 months leads to comparable speech development to normal-hearing peers after 24 months of device use. This study assessed speech milestones in young CI recipients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric audiology
- Speech-language pathology
- Developmental pediatrics
Background:
- Early identification of hearing loss enables cochlear implantation (CI) in infants under 24 months.
- Assessing speech development in this population is crucial for evaluating CI efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate early speech development in children implanted with a cochlear implant (CI) before 24 months of age.
- To compare their speech development to normative data using the German ELFRA-2 questionnaire.
Main Methods:
- Two groups of children implanted before 24 months were assessed using the ELFRA-2.
- Group 1: 6 children tested at 24 months chronological age.
- Group 2: 9 children tested after 24 months of CI use.
Main Results:
- Children implanted before 24 months showed significant delays in vocabulary, syntax, and morphology at 24 months chronological age compared to norms.
- However, no significant differences were found in these areas after 24 months of CI use compared to the norm group.
Conclusions:
- Cochlear implantation before 24 months facilitates speech development.
- Children with CIs achieve speech production levels comparable to normal-hearing peers after 24 months of device use.
