Early Cochlear Implant Promotes Global Development in Children with Severe-to-Profound Hearing Loss

Area of Science:

• Pediatric audiology
• Developmental pediatrics
• Speech-language pathology

Background:

• Children with severe-to-profound congenital bilateral sensorineural hearing loss (HL) require early intervention.
• Cochlear implantation (CI) is a common treatment for pediatric HL.
• Understanding the impact of CI on early development is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess early global development in children one year after CI use.
• To examine the influence of age at CI activation, gender, and maternal education on development.

Main Methods:

• 24 children with congenital bilateral sensorineural HL (diagnosed 1-23 months) were studied.
• CI activation occurred between 9-25 months.
• The Griffiths III scales were used for evaluation pre- and post-CI (one year).

Main Results:

• Global developmental quotient (GDQ) and specific domains (A, C, D, E) remained stable.
• A significant increase in the language and communication domain (Scale B) was observed (p < 0.05).
• Earlier CI activation and higher maternal schooling positively correlated with development.

Conclusions:

• One year of CI use led to significant improvements in the language and communication domain for children.
• Age at CI activation and maternal education level are key factors influencing early global development in pediatric CI users.