Consonant production in children with prelingual profound hearing loss using cochlear implants

Hearing plays a key role in the development and control of speech production. In children with prelingual profound hearing loss, auditory deprivation may affect articulation and acoustic precision of speech sounds. Although cochlear implantation improves auditory perception, its impact on consonant production remains an area of ongoing research.

A cross-sectional observational study was conducted to analyze acoustic parameters of fricative and stop consonants. Three groups were included: 22 children with prelingual profound hearing loss using cochlear implants, 42 normal-hearing children aged 5-11 years, and 19 normal-hearing adults used as a reference group for stop consonant analysis. Spectral parameters of the fricatives /s/ and /ʃ/ and Voice Onset Time (VOT) of stop consonants were analyzed using acoustic speech recordings.

Children with cochlear implants showed greater variability in the spectral parameters of fricatives compared with normal-hearing children, suggesting a less stable production of these sounds. The spectral center of gravity distance between /s/ and /ʃ/ was greater in the implanted group, which may reflect articulatory compensation strategies to maintain phonetic contrast. VOT values in children with cochlear implants in our sample were comparable to those observed in normal-hearing children, particularly for voiceless stop consonants.

Children with cochlear implants exhibit greater variability in fricative production, likely related to limitations in high-frequency perception. However, the developmental pattern of VOT in our sample appears similar to that of normal-hearing children. These acoustic parameters may represent useful objective measures for evaluating phonetic development and guiding speech rehabilitation in cochlear implant users.