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Updated: May 21, 2026
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Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Speech intelligibility and prosody production in children with cochlear implants
Steven B Chin1, Tonya R Bergeson, Jennifer Phan
1Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, 755 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. schin@iupui.edu
Journal of Communication Disorders
|June 22, 2012
Summary
Children with cochlear implants show delayed speech intelligibility and prosody development compared to peers with normal hearing. Intelligibility advances faster than prosody, with distinct challenges in producing interrogative intonation.
Area of Science:
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Audiology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Cochlear implants (CIs) offer auditory input but may impact speech development.
- Understanding speech intelligibility and prosody is crucial for effective communication.
- Research is needed to compare these skills in children with CIs and normal hearing (NH).
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between speech intelligibility and prosody production in children using CIs.
- To compare CI users with NH children on these speech measures.
- To identify potential developmental differences in speech skill acquisition.
Main Methods:
- Administered the Beginner's Intelligibility Test (BIT) and Prosodic Utterance Production (PUP) task.
- Included 15 children with CIs and 10 children with NH.
- Utilized adult listeners for intelligibility judgments, mood identification, and rating of prosodic elements.
Main Results:
- Children with CIs scored lower on both intelligibility and prosody than NH children.
- Intelligibility scores were higher than prosody scores for both groups.
- Declarative sentences were easiest to identify; interrogative sentences were most challenging.
Conclusions:
- Speech intelligibility develops ahead of prosody in both CI and NH children.
- NH children outperform CI users in both intelligibility and prosody, even when accounting for hearing age.
- Intelligibility and prosody, particularly interrogative intonation, appear relatively dissociated in these age groups.
