Auditory and language skills of children using hearing aids

Hearing loss may impair the development of a child. The rehabilitation process for individuals with hearing loss depends on effective interventions.

To describe the linguistic profile and the hearing skills of children using hearing aids, to characterize the rehabilitation process and to analyze its association with the children's degree of hearing loss.

Cross-sectional study with a non-probabilistic sample of 110 children using hearing aids (6-10 years of age) for mild to profound hearing loss. Tests of language, speech perception, phonemic discrimination, and school performance were performed. The associations were verified by the following tests: chi-squared for linear trend and Kruskal-Wallis.

About 65% of the children had altered vocabulary, whereas 89% and 94% had altered phonology and inferior school performance, respectively. The degree of hearing loss was associated with differences in the median age of diagnosis; the age at which the hearing aids were adapted and at which speech therapy was started; and the performance on auditory tests and the type of communication used.

The diagnosis of hearing loss and the clinical interventions occurred late, contributing to impairments in auditory and language development.