Auditory and Preverbal Skill Improvements between Early and Late Cochlear Implantees: Evidence from LittlEARS Questionnaire

Abstract

Introduction: Children with hearing loss are either fitted with hearing aid or implanted with Cochlear implants and Brainstem Implants. It is essential for these children to undergo intervention during the critical period, a lot of objective evidences such as Brainstem Evoked Response Audiometry, Late Latency Response and Mismatch Negativity have shown the benefit of early implantation, there is also a need to document subjective evidences to show the outcomes of early implantation. Aim: To compare the auditory performance in early and late Implantees using LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was designed. Children with bilateral profound hearing loss, unilateral cochlear implant users and implant ages between six months to 24 months were considered for the study. A hundred random samples of parents of Congenital Hearing Impaired children participated. A Tamil translated version of LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire was administered to the parents of cochlear implantees, the samples were grouped as early implantees and late implantees. Mean scores were analysed and compared between the groups using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: Results reveal early Implantees had a better mean (28.52) score of auditory development than late implantees (27.69) and statistical significance (<0.005) was not obtained between the groups. This shows that the performance did not significantly differ between the groups, in terms of auditory behaviour and early preverbal skills. Conclusion: LittlEARS Auditory Questionnare is a better and promising tool to measure outcomes in cochlear implant and also provides us the evidence, the need for early implantation.

Keywords

• auditory verbal therapy
• critical period
• development
• early preverbal skills
• objective measures
• subjective measures