Hearing and Language Skills in Children Using Hearing Aids: Experimental Intervention Study

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Audiology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Developmental Pediatrics

Background:

• Childhood hearing loss negatively impacts auditory, linguistic, and social development.
• Early intervention with speech therapy and personal sound amplification devices (PSAPs) is crucial for communication enhancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the efficacy of speech therapy intervention on auditory and linguistic skills in Brazilian children (6-8 years) using PSAPs.
• To evaluate the impact of targeted therapy on communication abilities in young hearing-impaired individuals.

Main Methods:

• An experimental study involving 16 children (6-8 years) with bilateral hearing loss using PSAPs.
• Utilized assessments including the Glendonald Auditory Screening Procedure (GASP), phoneme discrimination tests (TFDF), expressive language tests, and the IT-MAIS questionnaire.
• Compared an intervention group (IG) receiving speech therapy with a control group (CG).

Main Results:

• The intervention group (IG) showed a 5% increase in phonemic discrimination ability on the TFDF.
• The Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS) scores increased by 9% in the CG and 3% in the IG.
• The GASP and expressive language tests were not sensitive enough to detect significant changes.

Conclusions:

• Speech therapy intervention demonstrated significant improvements in phonemic discrimination (TFDF) for children using PSAPs.
• Both intervention and control groups exhibited increased auditory integration scores (IT-MAIS), suggesting broader benefits or practice effects.