Abstract
Objective
Cochlear implantation (CI) is an established treatment for selected individuals with bilateral severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss who derive limited benefits from conventional hearing aids.
This work was designed to assess speech processing at the brainstem and the cortical level in children fitted with CIs after a variable duration of implantation and speech therapy compared with language acquisition.
Patients and methods
Thirty-one children between 4 and 5 years of age fitted with unilateral CIs of variable duration ranging from 1 to 3 years were assessed at 1 year (n=10), 2 years (n=12), and 3 years (n=9) after device activation. They underwent aided sound–field audiological evaluation, speech-evoked auditory brainstem response, and speech-evoked mismatch negativity test. The results were compared among the study groups and then correlated with language assessment and speech perception tests.
Results
Both speech-evoked auditory brainstem response and mismatch negativity test responses were significantly different among the three groups. Moreover, language development showed a significant difference among the three groups.
Conclusion
Children fitted with CI showed cortical and brainstem activation from the first year and these activity changes continue with CI use and both are highly correlated with receptive and expressive language. Thus, both electrophysiologic tests could be early and critical objective indicators of optimal speech encoding after programming of the CI device.
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Rahman, T.T.A., Nada, I.M., Kader, H.A.A.A. et al. Neural representation of speech in pediatric cochlear implant recipients. Egypt J Otolaryngol 33, 535–545 (2017). https://doi.org/10.4103/1012-5574.206026
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/1012-5574.206026