Multidimensional evaluation of vocal quality in children with cochlear implants: a cross-sectional, case-controlled...

Area of Science:

• Speech-language pathology
• Audiology
• Pediatric otolaryngology

Background:

• Cochlear implantation (CI) is a vital intervention for pre-lingual deafness.
• Understanding vocal quality post-CI is crucial for holistic development.
• Limited research exists on vocal quality differences in Mandarin-speaking pediatric CI users.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare vocal quality between Mandarin-speaking children with CIs and normal-hearing peers.
• To identify CI usage parameters predicting unfavorable voice outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional, case-controlled study involving 35 pre-lingual pediatric CI users and 35 normal-hearing controls.
• Voice analysis included sustained phonation, reading passages, aerodynamics, acoustics, and auditory-perceptual evaluation.
• Pediatric Voice-Related Quality of Life Survey assessed caregiver-reported outcomes.

Main Results:

• CI users demonstrated significantly poorer vocal quality, including higher phonation threshold pressure, increased fundamental frequency and peak-amplitude variations, and wider vocal ranges.
• Perceptual evaluations revealed greater severity in monotone, resonance, loudness, and strain in the CI group.
• Duration of postoperative rehabilitation independently predicted unfavorable mean speaking fundamental frequency.

Conclusions:

• Inadequate postoperative rehabilitation may impede the normalization of voice quality in pediatric CI users.
• Multidimensional voice analysis is recommended for precise evaluation of pediatric CI implantees.
• Further validation with diverse linguistic and institutional data is necessary.