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Updated: Jul 24, 2026
Quantitative Assessment of Cortical Auditory-tactile Processing in Children with Disabilities
Published on: January 29, 2014
Health-related quality of life and associated developmental domains of children provided early with cochlear implants
Vanessa Hoffmann1, Stefanie Kröger2, Thorsten Burger3
1Department of Nursing and Management, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Germany.
Insights
Children with cochlear implants (CI) show similar health-related quality of life (HRQoL) to hearing peers. Social-emotional development, not early intervention timing, impacts HRQoL in children with CI.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric audiology
- Developmental psychology
- Quality of life research
Background:
- Quality of life (QoL) is crucial for psychosocial development in children with cochlear implants (CI).
- Understanding health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children with CI compared to hearing children is essential.
- Investigating the links between HRQoL and developmental factors like social-emotional skills, Theory of Mind (ToM), and spoken language is important.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess and compare HRQoL in children with CI and their hearing peers.
- To determine the relationship between HRQoL and social-emotional development, ToM, and spoken language skills in children with CI.
- To identify factors influencing HRQoL in children with CI.
Main Methods:
- A longitudinal study design was employed, including children with CI and hearing children.
- Validated instruments were used to assess social-emotional development, ToM, and spoken language skills at baseline.
- HRQoL and social-emotional development were reassessed 2.5 years later using the KINDL questionnaire.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in HRQoL were found between children with CI and hearing children.
- The age of detection, age of hearing aid fitting, and initiation of early intervention did not correlate with HRQoL in children with CI.
- Specific domains of social-emotional development showed a relationship with HRQoL in children with CI.
Conclusions:
- Targeted interventions are vital for improving spoken language skills in preschool-aged children.
- Interventions should also focus on enhancing social-emotional and social-cognitive competencies for better overall development.
- Supporting social-emotional development is key to positively impacting the quality of life for children with cochlear implants.
Objectives:
Quality of life plays an important place in the psychosocial development of children with Cochlear Implants (CI). We assesd health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children with CI and in hearing children and determined relationships between HRQoL and other developmental characteristics (social-emotional development, Theory of Mind (ToM), spoken language skills).
Methods:
A longitudinal study was conducted including children with CI and hearing children. We used instruments that are widely employed and have been validated for research. At time 1 social-emotional development, ToM and spoken language skills were assessed.HRQoL was assessed using the generic KINDL questionnaire, as was social-emotional development, 2.5 years later (time 2).
Results:
No significant difference was seen in HRQoL between hearing children and children with CI. We show that the age of detection, the age of hearing care, and the start of early intervention are not related to HRQoL of children with CI, but relationships with some domains of social-emotional development are evident.
Conclusions:
This study highlights the importance of targeted intervention not only to improve spoken language skills at preschool age, but also strengthen social-emotional and social-cognitive competences.
