Open-Set Speech Preception Development in Children with Cochlear Implants

Kim, Lee Suk; Lee, Mi Young; Huh, Min Jung; Oh, Young Jun

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
The aims of this study were 1) to assess the development of open-set speech perception in prelingually deaf children who had multichannel cochlear implants implanted and 2) to document the outcomes according to age at implantation and the device type. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: The subjects for this study were 23 prelingually deaf children who received a Nucleus 22 or Nucleus 24 multichannel cochlear implants and who had been followed-up for a period of 1-4 years at Dong-A University Hospital. They had no other disabilities. Open-set speech perception was evaluated pre-operatively, postoperatively for 6 months and then on a yearly basis using the following assessment materials: Phonetically Balanced Kindergarten monosyllabic word lists, bisyllabic word lists, and Glendonald Auditory Screening Procedure(GASP) sentence subtest. Paired t-tests were performed to assess improvement in the mean scores at each interval for all children. T-tests were used to examine differences in the mean scores between two groups divided by age at implantation and the device type. RESULTS: Open-set speech perception for all subjects was improved to mean 84% for monosyllabic phonemes and 89% and 88% for bisyllabic phonemes and everyday sentences respectively at 4 years postimplantation. Open-set speech perception ability was better for children who received implantation before 5 years of age than those who did it after 5 years of age at 3 years interval and 4 years interval. The performance was also better for children who received Nucleus 24M than those who received Nucleus 22 at all intervals. CONCLUSION: The prelingually deaf children in our study showed significant open-set speech perception abilities at the time of the last postoperative evaluation. Rapid improvement was noted in open-set speech perception for the children who had Nucleus 24M implanted before 5 years of age. In order to maximize the effects of access to auditory stimuli provided by the cochlear implant on the development of open-set speech perception, a structured postoperative schedule of programming and rehabilitation is recommended in addition to the optimal educational environment.