Nasal Resonance Characteristics in Mandarin-Speaking Children With Cochlear Implants

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Pediatric Otolaryngology

Background:

• Speech nasal resonance is crucial for clear articulation.
• Prelingual deafness impacts speech development, including nasality.
• Cochlear implantation (CI) aims to restore hearing but may affect speech production.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of CI on speech nasal resonance in prelingually deaf Chinese children.
• To investigate the influence of age at implantation on nasal resonance outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Compared 50 children with CI to 50 age-matched normal-hearing (NH) peers.
• Divided CI group by implantation age: ≤4 years (n=29) vs. >4 years (n=21).
• Measured nasalance using Nasameter II for oral, naso-oral, and nasal speech stimuli.

Main Results:

• CI group showed significantly lower nasalance for nasal/naso-oral sounds compared to NH group (p < .05).
• No significant difference in nasalance for oral sounds between CI and NH groups.
• Children implanted ≤4 years had higher nasalance for nasal stimuli than those implanted >4 years (p < .05).

Conclusions:

• Hyponasality is a speech challenge for Mandarin-speaking children with CI.
• Persistent nasal-oral balance issues post-CI require targeted speech therapy.
• Age at implantation influences speech nasal resonance outcomes.