Cochlear Implantation in Children with Additional Disabilities: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Otolaryngology
• Developmental Pediatrics
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Cochlear implantation (CI) is a common intervention for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH).
• The impact of CI in DHH children with co-occurring disabilities is less understood.
• Understanding benefits and challenges is crucial for optimizing outcomes in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review the last decade of literature on CI benefits for DHH children with additional disabilities.
• To identify specific benefits and challenges associated with CI in this complex pediatric population.
• To highlight areas for future research and personalized intervention strategies.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search conducted in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Web of Science (January 2012 - July 2023).
• Two-stage search strategy to identify relevant studies.
• Inclusion of 61 articles focusing on CI in DHH children with diverse disabilities (e.g., ASD, CP, visual impairment).

Main Results:

• Many DHH children with additional disabilities demonstrated improved environmental sound awareness post-CI.
• Enhanced non-verbal communication and adaptive skills were observed, facilitating social interaction and environmental connection.
• Expressive language development showed improvement but lagged compared to DHH children without additional disabilities.

Conclusions:

• Cochlear implantation offers significant benefits in environmental awareness and adaptive skills for DHH children with co-occurring disabilities.
• Language acquisition requires tailored approaches, acknowledging slower progress in some cases.
• Further research is needed to understand individual disability impacts and develop validated tools for assessing quality of life and developmental trajectories.