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Sound Source Localization Testing in Single-sided Deafness Following Bone Conduction Intervention
Published on: December 20, 2024
391
Development of Sound Localization in Infants and Young Children with Cochlear Implants
Filip Asp1,2, Eva Karltorp1,2, Erik Berninger1,3
1Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm, Sweden.
Journal of Clinical Medicine
|November 26, 2022
Summary
Early bilateral cochlear implantation (CI) in children with severe-to-profound hearing loss enables sound localization development comparable to normal hearing peers. This suggests an intrinsic mechanism for auditory development irrespective of implantation timing.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Neuroscience
- Pediatrics
Background:
- Cochlear implantation (CI) aids hearing, speech, and language development in children with severe-to-profound hearing loss.
- Assessing CI outcomes typically occurs years post-implantation, complicating comparisons with typical development.
- Early intervention is crucial, but the developmental trajectory of auditory skills like sound localization post-CI requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if the rate of horizontal sound localization accuracy improvement in children with bilateral cochlear implants (BCIs) matches that of children with normal hearing.
- To compare the developmental rates between early BCIs and historical control groups of normal-hearing children and those with late BCIs.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study involving 20 children with a median age of 0.58 years at simultaneous bilateral cochlear implantation.
- Longitudinal follow-up of sound localization accuracy for approximately 1 year, yielding 42 observations.
- Comparison of developmental slopes with historical control groups of normal-hearing children and children with late BCIs (around 4 years of age).
Main Results:
- Children with BCIs showed a significant improvement in localization accuracy over time (slope = 0.21/year).
- The rate of development in children with early BCIs was not significantly different from that of normal-hearing children (slope = 0.16/year since birth).
- The developmental rate for localization accuracy was identical in children with early BCIs and those with late BCIs.
Conclusions:
- Early bilateral cochlear implantation facilitates the development of horizontal sound localization abilities at a pace comparable to children with normal hearing.
- The similar developmental rates observed across early CI, late CI, and normal-hearing groups suggest an intrinsic developmental mechanism for horizontal sound localization.
- These findings support early bilateral cochlear implantation as an effective strategy for optimizing auditory development in young children with severe-to-profound hearing loss.
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