Young children with profound hearing loss benefit from cochlear implants
In general, cochlear implants significantly improve auditory perception and speech intelligibility of children suffering from profound sensorineural hearing loss, a study finds.
The study also found that the child’s age is very important for the postoperative outcomes. The younger the child's age at the time of implantation of cochlear implants, the better the postoperative outcomes.
The study especially focused on the role of the socioeconomic status of the family. But the study found that the socioeconomic status of the family had no influence on the postoperative outcomes.
About the study
In the study, 180 children aged 4 or younger and suffering from congenital bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss at the time of implantation were studied.
The children underwent cochlear implantation surgery and their postoperative outcomes were measured and documented using categories of auditory perception (CAP), meaningful auditory integration (MAIS), and speech intelligibility rating (SIR) scores.
The study “Impact of socioeconomic factors on paediatric cochlear implant outcomes” was published in International Journal of pediatric Otorhinolaryngoly in November 2017.
Source: www.ncbi.nih.gov