A study on speech perception and speech intelligibility of young deaf children who received cochlear implants in their early years

2005 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 15500389
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: Tokai University
• Principal Investigator: KITANO Yoko Tokai University, School of Health Science, Professor, 健康科学部, 教授 (50276862)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): TAKAHASHI Masahiro Tokai University, School of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (30051832) ; HARADA Tatsuhiko Tokai University, School of Medicine, Assistant Professor, 医学部, 講師 (60238186)
• Project Period (FY): 2003 – 2005
• Keywords: Pediatric cochlear implant / Early operation results / Pediatric mapping / Auditory perception / Auditory-verbal approach / Auditory learning

Research Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate speech perception and speech intelligibility of young deaf children who received cochlear implants before three years old, compared with deaf children who received cochlear implants after three years old. Results were the followings : the deaf children who received cochlear implants before three years old showed significantly higher scores of speech perception and intelligibility compared with deaf children who received cochlear implants in later years.
In addition, the former group tended to employ auditory-oral communication compared with the latter group who tended to employ more visual modes of communication including sign language.
The hearing parents of the former group showed significantly higher satisfaction rates as to their children's development compared with the lower satisfaction rates of the parents of the latter group.
The results indicated the significance of early cochlear implant operation in the acquisition of speech perception and speech intelligibility by deaf children.