Study on long-term performance evaluation of auditory and speech ability in cochlear implant in congenital deaf children with cochlear nerve deficiency after cochlear implantation

Abstract

Objective·To evaluate the long-term performance and influencing factors of auditory and speech abilities, and social-life abilities in congenital deaf children with cochlear nerve deficiency (CND) after cochlear implant (CI) surgery.Methods·Twenty-one CND children with CI implantation in Shanghai Ninth People′s Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine were assigned to CND group, and twenty children with extremely severe sensorineural hearing loss with normal inner ear structure matching implantation age and CI use time of the CND group were selected as control group. The aided hearing threshold, Infant-toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS), LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire (LEAQ), Categories of Auditory Performance-Ⅱ (CAP-Ⅱ), Meaningful Use of Speech Scale (MUSS), Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR), closed and open disyllabic speech recognition test, and speech intelligibility test were used to hierarchically evaluate the subjects′ auditory and verbal abilities, and the Infant-junior Middle School Student′s Social Life Ability Scale (S-M Scale) was used to assess the subjects′ social-life ability.Results·The average aided hearing threshold of each frequency point in the CND group was significantly worse than that of the control group (all P<0.05). In the CND group, 90.5% of children′s aided hearing threshold of all frequencies entered the Chinese banana map. The auditory and speech abilities of the CND group were worse than those of the control group, and the significant differences between the two groups were found in the results of IT-MAIS, CAP-Ⅱ, MUSS, SIR, and closed and open disyllabic speech recognition (all P<0.05), but not in LEAQ. The social-life ability of the CND group was worse than that of the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). There was no correlation between implantation age, usage time of CI, auditory and language rehabilitation time, and auditory and speech ability of the CND group.Conclusion·CI is an effective auditory intervention method for children with CND, but their average auditory and speech abilities and social-life abilities are significantly behind those of CI users with normal inner ear structure. Therefore, for CND children, individualized communication strategies and rehabilitation training methods should be emphasized, and the cultivation of social-life ability and psychological guidance should be strengthened.

Keywords

• cochlear nerve deficiency
• cochlear implant
• auditory and speech ability
• social-life ability