Development of Environmental Sound Perception in Children with Cochlear Implant within 4 Months of Implantation

The aim of the study was (1) to investigate the development of identification of environmental sounds in children with Cochlear Implantation (CI) within four months from switch on (i.e. at 0, 2 and 4 months) and (2) to see the effect of family type in the perception of environmental sounds.

A longitudinal study design was utilized on a total of 18 children using CI within the chronological age range of 3 to 7 years. All participants underwent a closed set test of Environmental Sound Perception (ESP) to measure the longitudinal outcomes of ESP, at 0 (within 1 week of switch on), 2 months and 4 months of implant age. They were asked to identify the sounds by pointing at the picture representing the sound.

Results using One-way and Two-way ANOVA demonstrated that at 0 month of implant age, the scores were 0%. At 2 months of implant age the scores ranged from 0 to 25% and at 4th month the scores ranged from 0 to 40%. There was a statistically significant improvement observed in ESP at every 2 months of testing from 0 to 4 months of implant age. However, effect of family type revealed no significant differences between the performances across the implant age.

The current study reveals that identification of environmental sounds are one of the foremost benefits and early outcomes of CI in children. The perception of environmental sounds are constantly but gradually developing with increasing implant age. This information is useful to predict the performance of CI during rehabilitation and to set the therapy goals accordingly.