Speech Intelligibility in Deaf Children After Long-Term Cochlear Implant Use

AbstractOur study compares the intelligibility of French-speaking children with a cochlear implant (N = 13) and age-matched children with typical hearing (N = 13) in a narrative task. This contrasts with previous studies in which speech intelligibility of children with cochlear implants is most often tested using repetition or reading tasks. Languages other than English are seldom considered. Their productions were graded by naive and expert listeners. The results show that (1) children with CIs have lower intelligibility, (2) early implantation is a predictor of good intelligibility, and (3) late implantation after two years of age does not prevent the children from eventually reaching good intelligibility.

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Late development of the categorical perception of speech sounds in pre-adolescent children

ZAS Papers in Linguistics ◽

10.21248/zaspil.42.2005.271 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

pp. 13-31

Author(s):

Victoria Medina ◽

Willy Serniclaes

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implant ◽

Speech Intelligibility ◽

Categorical Perception ◽

Normal Hearing ◽

Deaf Children ◽

First Year ◽

Functional Implications ◽

Concomitant Reduction ◽

Phonetic Features ◽

Hearing Children

While the perilinguistic child is endowed with predispositions for the categorical perception of phonetic features, their adaptation to the native language results from a long evolution from the end of the first year of age up to the adolescence. This evolution entails both a better discrimination between phonological categories, a concomitant reduction of the discrimination between within-category variants, and a higher precision of perceptual boundaries between categories. The first objective of the present study was to assess the relative importance of these modifications by comparing the perceptual performances of a group of 11 children, aged from 8 to 11 years, with those of their mothers. Our second objective was to explore the functional implications of categorical perception by comparing the performances of a group of 8 deaf children, equipped with a cochlear implant, with normal-hearing chronological age controls. The results showed that the categorical boundary was slightly more precise and that categorical perception was consistently larger in adults vs. normal-hearing children. Those among the deaf children who were able to discriminate minimal distinctions between syllables displayed categorical perception performances equivalent to those of normal-hearing controls. In conclusion, the late effect of age on the categorical perception of speech seems to be anchored in a fairly mature phonological system, as evidenced the fairly high precision of categorical boundaries in pre-adolescents. These late developments have functional implications for speech perception in difficult conditions as suggested by the relationship between categorical perception and speech intelligibility in cochlear implant children.

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Experiences with the Cochlear Implant in Preschool Children

Annals of Otology Rhinology & Laryngology ◽

10.1177/000348948309200612 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 92 (6) ◽

pp. 587-592 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

William F. House ◽

Karen I. Berliner ◽

Laurie S. Eisenberg

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implant ◽

Hearing Aids ◽

Deaf Children ◽

Older Children ◽

Auditory Thresholds ◽

Deaf Adults ◽

Long Term Impact ◽

Speech And Language Development ◽

Better Than

Years of experience with the cochlear implant in profoundly deaf adults led to a decision to attempt to extend the benefits of this device to children. As of March 15, 1983, 43 deaf children ranging in age from 2.7 to 17.5 years have been implanted. Seventeen of these are children under 6 years of age. All had worn hearing aids but demonstrated little or no benefit from them. Auditory thresholds with the implant are significantly better than those obtained unaided and with hearing aids. Although a longer period of experience is required, the preschool-aged children can eventually make the same auditory discriminations as older children and adults. Long-term impact on speech and language development remains to be determined, but there is already evidence for significant improvement in these areas.

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Is the cochlear implant a successful long-term solution for single-sided deaf and asymmetric hearing-impaired patients?

European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology ◽

10.1007/s00405-020-06411-y ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Iva Speck ◽

Pascal Challier ◽

Thomas Wesarg ◽

Till Fabian Jakob ◽

Antje Aschendorff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Speech Recognition ◽

Cochlear Implant ◽

Sound Localization ◽

Background Noise ◽

Speech Intelligibility ◽

Subjective Evaluation ◽

Term Treatment ◽

Long Term Results ◽

Long Term Treatment

Abstract Purpose We investigated the long-term results of cochlear implant (CI) recipients with asymmetric hearing loss (AHL) or single-sided deafness (SSD). We focused on wearing behavior, audiometric hearing rehabilitation, and subjective benefits of the CI. CI is expected to improve audiological results, subjective hearing perception, and tinnitus burden. Methods Speech recognition in background noise and sound localization were assessed preoperatively and after at least six years of CI experience. Validated questionnaires determined the subjective benefit of CI use and the subjective evaluation of tinnitus. Results Over 80% of the included AHL and SSD CI recipients used their CI between 6 and 10 h daily; four subjects with SSD were non-users. Speech recognition in background noise and sound localization improved significantly compared with the unaided preoperative situation. Additionally, CI improved subjective speech intelligibility and spatial hearing impression while reducing tinnitus burden. Conclusion Subjects with AHL and SSD benefit from CI, subjectively and audiologically. Cochlear implant is a successful long-term treatment for AHL and SSD.

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Evolution of the speech intelligibility of prelinguistically deaf children who received a cochlear implant

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America ◽

10.1121/1.4786091 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 117 (4) ◽

pp. 2402-2402

Author(s):

Marie‐Eve Bouchard ◽

Henri Cohen ◽

Marie‐Therese LeNormand

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implant ◽

Speech Intelligibility ◽

Deaf Children

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Assessing Higher Order Language Processing in Long-Term Cochlear Implant Users

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2019_ajslp-18-0138 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 1537-1553 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

William G. Kronenberger ◽

David B. Pisoni

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implant ◽

Language Processing ◽

Speech Intelligibility ◽

Higher Order ◽

Vocabulary Knowledge ◽

Phonological Coding ◽

Verbal Rehearsal ◽

Order Language ◽

Core Language

Purpose The purpose of this study was to describe and explain individual differences in complex/higher order language processing in long-term cochlear implant (CI) users relative to normal-hearing (NH) peers. Method Measures of complex/higher order language processing indexed by the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals–Fourth Edition (CELF-4) Core Language subtests were obtained from 53 long-term (≥ 7 years) CI users aged 9–29 years and 60 NH controls who did not differ in age, gender, or nonverbal IQ. Vocabulary knowledge and fast, automatic language processing (rapid phonological coding, verbal rehearsal speed, and speech intelligibility) were also assessed. Results CI users showed weaker performance than NH controls on all CELF-4 Core Language subtests. These differences remained for Formulated Sentences and Recalling Sentences even when vocabulary knowledge was statistically controlled. About 50% of the CI sample scored within the range of the NH sample on Formulated Sentences and Recalling Sentences, while the remaining 50% scored well below the NH sample on these subtests. Vocabulary knowledge, rapid phonological coding, verbal rehearsal speed, and speech intelligibility were more strongly correlated with CELF-4 subtest scores in the CI sample than in the NH sample. Conclusions Weaknesses in complex, higher order language processing shown by a subgroup of CI users compared to NH peers may result from delays in fast, automatic processing of language. These at-risk domains of language functioning could serve as targets for novel interventions for deaf children who experience suboptimal spoken language outcomes following cochlear implantation.

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Reading and speech intelligibility of a child with auditory impairment and cochlear implant.

Psychology & Neuroscience ◽

10.1037/pne0000139 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 306-316 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Fernando Del Mando Lucchesi ◽

Ana Claudia Moreira Almeida-Verdu ◽

Deisy das Graças de Souza

Keyword(s):

Cochlear Implant ◽

Speech Intelligibility ◽

Auditory Impairment

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