Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 14, 2026
Systematic Hearing Performance Evaluation Process for Adolescents with Cochlear Implantation at Early Ages
Published on: March 24, 2023
Categories of auditory performance and speech intelligibility ratings of early-implanted children without speech
Huiqun Zhou1, Zhengnong Chen, Haibo Shi
1Department of Otolaryngology, Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Insights
Early cochlear implantation (CI) in children under 18 months provides significant communication benefits, even without formal speech therapy. Natural auditory and speech development occurs effectively through real-world exposure.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Audiology
- Speech-Language Pathology
- Neuroscience of Hearing
Background:
- Early cochlear implantation (CI) is a critical intervention for congenital profound deafness.
- The role of supplementary speech therapy in optimizing outcomes for early CI recipients remains under investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of routine speech therapy in enhancing auditory performance and speech intelligibility in children who received cochlear implants before 18 months of age.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study compared 19 children receiving speech therapy (ST) with 15 children not receiving formal therapy (NST) after early CI.
- Auditory performance (Categories of Auditory Performance - CAP) and speech intelligibility (Speech Intelligibility Rating - SIR) were assessed pre-surgery and at 6, 12, and 24 months post-surgery.
- Assessments were conducted by a blinded therapist, and group scores were compared at each time point.
Main Results:
- Children with early CI demonstrated comparable auditory performance and speech intelligibility, regardless of whether they received formal speech therapy.
- Both ST and NST groups showed improvements in CAP and SIR scores over time with increased implant use.
- Median scores between the speech therapy and no speech therapy groups were similar at all follow-up intervals.
Conclusions:
- Early cochlear implantation (before 18 months) yields substantial communication benefits without the necessity of routine speech therapy.
- Everyday life experiences and natural social environments play a crucial role in auditory and speech development post-CI.
- These findings offer reassurance to parents regarding cochlear implant outcomes, even in settings where speech training resources are limited.
Objective:
To assess whether speech therapy can lead to better results for early cochlear implantation (CI) children.
Patients:
A cohort of thirty-four congenitally profoundly deaf children who underwent CI before the age of 18 months at the Sixth Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiaotong University from January 2005 to July 2008 were included. Nineteen children received speech therapy in rehabilitation centers (ST), whereas the remaining fifteen cases did not (NST), but were exposed to the real world, as are normal hearing children.
Methods:
All children were assessed before surgery and at 6, 12, and 24 months after surgery with the Categories of Auditory Performance test (CAP) and the Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR). Each assessment was given by the same therapist who was blind to the situation of the child at each observation interval. CAP and SIR scores of the groups were compared at each time point.
Results:
Our study showed that the auditory performance and speech intelligibility of trained children were almost the same as to those of untrained children with early implantation. The CAP and SIR scores of both groups increased with increased time of implant use during the follow-up period, and at each time point, the median scores of the two groups were about equal.
Conclusions:
These results indicate that great communication benefits are achieved by early implantation (<18 months) without routine speech therapy. The results exemplify the importance of enhanced social environments provided by everyday life experience for human brain development and reassure parents considering cochlear implants where speech training is unavailable.
