The influence of contextual information on the perception of speech by postlingually and prelingually profoundly hearing-impaired Hebrew-speaking adolescents and adults.

OBJECTIVE: To study linguistic context effects on speech perception by prelingually (N = 10) and postlingually (N = 10) hearing-impaired Hebrew-speaking adolescents and adults. DESIGN: Participants were cochlear implant surgery candidates with profound sensorineural hearing loss (95 dB HL+). Four levels of speech perception materials were presented through the auditory-visual modality: monosyllabic nonsense syllables (phonological content), monosyllabic meaningful words (semantic-lexical), sentences without presented topics (semantic-syntactic), and sentences with topics (topical). Data were analyzed via percentage correct recognition and via k andj factors (Boothroyd & Nittrouer, 1988). RESULTS: Both participant groups performed better when speech material having more contextual information was presented, with no significant intergroup differences. CONCLUSIONS: This similar usage of contextual information among prelingually and postlingually hearing-impaired participants is encouraging and suggests the role of factors other than age of onset.     

多导人工耳蜗的临床应用

目的：探讨多导人工耳蜗植入对深度感音神经性耳聋患者的治疗效果。方法;对１１例深度耳聋患者行Ｍｉｎｓｉ Ｓｙｓｔｅｍ ２２导和Ｎｕｃｌｅｕｓ２４导人工耳蜗植入术,其中语前聋６例,语后聋５例。术后１－１．５个月开机调试。结果;１１例虱全部恢复了听力;语后聋患者不需要经过唇读或简单的语言训练就能进行对话和打电话,患者能回到有声世界进行正常的生活和工作;     

Speech perception results--the first 10 years of a cochlear implant program

Long-term speech perception test results for prelingually deaf children were compared with those of postlingually deafened adults, both groups having undergone cochlear implant at our Center. Average open-set score results of adults were similar to those of the children. However, some qualitative differences were demonstrated on the perception of phonological contrasts between the groups.     

多导人工耳蜗的临床应用(附11例报告)

目的：探讨多导人工耳蜗植入对深度感音神经性耳聋患者的治疗效果。方法：对11例深度耳聋患者行MiniSystem22导和Nucleus24导人工耳蜗植入术,其中语前聋6例,语后聋5例。术后1～1．5个月开机调试。结果：11例患者全部恢复了听力;语后聋患者不需要经过唇读或简单的语言训练就能进行对话和打电话,患者能回到有声世界进行正常的生活和工作;对语前聋患者进行评议训练,都有不同程度的进步。结论：深度感音神经性耳聋患者植入22导及24导人工耳蜗后效果良好,尤其对语后聋和年龄较小的儿童效果更好。     

Speech perception after cochlear implantation over a 4-year time period

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term speech perception of cochlear implantees and to compare the developing auditory performance patterns of prelingual children and postlingual deaf adults. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twenty-nine prelingually deaf children and 17 postlingually deaf adults who had been followed up for 4 years were included in the study. Speech perception ability was assessed by means of vowel and consonant confusion tests and the Korean version of the Central Institute of Deafness (K-CID) test (performed without visual cues). The test results were analyzed at 3 and 6 months after implantation and then annually. RESULTS: In the prelingually deaf children, the average results continuously improved over the 4-year period. In the postlingually deaf adults, the average results did not improve further after the first 2 years. Individuals with < 5 years of deafness had a faster rate of recovery of speech perception than those who had been deaf for > 5 years. The K-CID scores were negatively correlated with age at implantation for the prelingually deaf group and with the duration of deafness in the postlingually deaf group. Children fitted with implants at a younger age showed better speech perception ability than those fitted with implants at an older age. Interestingly, prelingually deaf children aged 5-7 years at implantation showed the widest variation in individual outcomes. Amongst this group of children with highly variable outcomes, the metabolic status of brain cortices determined by means of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) was available for three patients. The individual with the widest hypometabolic area had the best speech perception ability. CONCLUSION: The extent of hypometabolism as assessed by FDG-PET seemed to be one of the major factors predicting the outcome of cochlear implantation.     

Role of neck ultrasound during follow-up care of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas

Cantonese language rehabilitation in 28 prelingually deaf children who underwent cochlear implantation was evaluated. All patients were implanted with multichannel devices and the operations went smoothly. They all had improved scores on audiological assessments and speech perception tests. The speech evaluation tests included the recognition of sounds, vowels, consonants and tone. Sentence recognition and story comprehension were both improved after training for 2 years. Cochlear implantation is a useful measure for the speech rehabilitation of prelingually profound deaf children when hearing aids are of no benefit. The multichannel implant device is of clinical significance in the rehabilitation of those patients using tonal language.     

Chinese tonal language rehabilitation following cochlear implantation in children

Cantonese language rehabilitation in 28 prelingually deaf children who underwent cochlear implantation was evaluated. All patients were implanted with multichannel devices and the operations went smoothly. They all had improved scores on audiological assessments and speech perception tests. The speech evaluation tests included the recognition of sounds, vowels, consonants and tone. Sentence recognition and story comprehension were both improved after training for 2 years. Cochlear implantation is a useful measure for the speech rehabilitation of prelingually profound deaf children when hearing aids are of no benefit. The multichannel implant device is of clinical significance in the rehabilitation of those patients using tonal language.     

Performance of prelingually and postlingually deaf patients using single-channel or multichanel cochlear implants

The auditory and aided lipreading performance of 8 prelingually and 11 postlingually deaf patients who had received a single-channel or multichannel cochlear implant was evaluated during 2 years of follow-up. Although all the patients improved on both closed-set pattern recognition and speech drimination tests and on a Continouous Discourse Tracking task, the most significant improvement was observed in the postlingually deaf patients who were using a multichannel implant. These patients were the only ones to achieve open-set speech recognition in the auditory-only condition. Only small differences were found between prelingually deaf patients who were using a single-channel system and those who were using a multichannel system. The users' evaluations, obtained by means of a questionnaire, were generally positive in all patients. Based on the study results, the authors concluded that it is feasible to use cochlear implants in highly motivated prelingaully deaf patients who have learned to use oral-aural communication.     

Changes in speech intelligibility of postlingually deaf adults after cochlear implantation.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines changes in the intelligibility of CVC words spoken by postlingually deafened adults after they have had 6 to 12 mo of experience with a cochlear implant. The hypothesis guiding the research is that the intelligibility of these speakers will improve after extended use of a cochlear implant. The paper also describes changes in CVC word intelligibility analyzed by phoneme class and by features. DESIGN: The speech of eight postlingually deaf adults was recorded before activation of the speech processors of their cochlear implants and at 6 mo and 1 yr after activation. Seventeen listeners with no known impairment of hearing completed a word identification task while listening to each implant user's speech in noise. The percent information transmitted by the speakers in their pre- and postactivation recordings was measured for 11 English consonants and eight vowels separately. RESULTS: An overall improvement in word intelligibility was observed: seven of the eight speakers showed improvement in vowel intelligibility and six speakers showed improvement in consonant intelligibility. However, the intelligibility of specific consonant and vowel features varied greatly across speakers. CONCLUSIONS: Extended use of a cochlear implant by postlingually deafened adults tends to enhance their intelligibility.     

Altered Cortical Activity in Prelingually Deafened Cochlear Implant Users Following Long Periods of Auditory Deprivation

Auditory stimulation during childhood is critical for the development of the auditory cortex in humans and with that for hearing in adulthood. Age-related changes in morphology and peak latencies of the cortical auditory evoked potential (CAEP) have led to the use of this cortical response as a biomarker of auditory cortical maturation including studies of cortical development after deafness and subsequent cochlear implantation. To date, it is unknown whether prelingually deaf adults, with early onset deafness (before the age of 2 years) and who received a cochlear implant (CI) only during adulthood, would display absent or aberrant CAEP waveforms as predicted from CAEP studies in late implanted prelingually deaf children. In the current study, CAEP waveforms were recorded in response to electric stimuli in prelingually deaf adults, who received their CI after the age of 21 years. Waveform morphology and peak latencies were compared to the CAEP responses obtained in postlingually deaf adults, who became deaf after the age of 16. Unexpectedly, typical CAEP waveforms with adult-like P1-N1-P2 morphology could be recorded in the prelingually deaf adult CI users. On visual inspection, waveform morphology was comparable to the CAEP waveforms recorded in the postlingually deaf CI users. Interestingly, however, latencies of the N1 peak were significantly shorter and amplitudes were significantly larger in the prelingual group than in the postlingual group. The presence of the CAEP together with an early and large N1 peak might represent activation of the more innate and less complex components of the auditory cortex of the prelingually deaf CI user, whereas the CAEP in postlingually deaf CI users might reflect activation of the mature neural network still present in these patients. The CAEPs may therefore be helpful in the assessment of developmental state of the auditory cortex.     

Speech perception and speech intelligibility in children after cochlear implantation

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the long-term speech perception and speech intelligibility of congenitally and prelingually deaf children after cochlear implantation. It was a longitudinal study following 63 congenitally or prelingually deaf children up to 5 years after implantation. They each received a nucleus multichannel cochlear implant before they were 10 years old. METHODS: Perception is evaluated using the Test for the Evaluation of Voice Perception and Production (TEPP) and concerns closed- and open-set word and sentence perception without lip-reading. The intelligibility is classified according to the Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR). The evaluations have been made every 3 months for 1 year, then at 18 months, 2 years, 3 years and 5 years after the cochlear implantation. RESULTS: After 5 years of implantation, the median percentage of closed-words speech perception (CSW) is 95.5%-93.67% for closed-sentence speech perception (CSS) and 76.3% for open-sentence speech perception (OSS); the median Speech Intelligibility Rating is 3.83. CONCLUSIONS: Congenitally and prelingually deaf children who receive cochlear implant before the age of 10 years develop speech perception and speech intelligibility abilities. The closed-set perception progresses quickly and seems to reaching a plateau at 5 years post implantation. The improvement of open-sentence perception is not significant until the first year post implantation. The speech intelligibility improves regularly the five first year post implantation.     

语前聋儿童人工耳蜗植入效果的评估

目的探索语前聋儿童人工耳蜗植入效果的评估方法.方法受试者为18名接受人工耳蜗植入的语前聋儿童,耳蜗植入时平均年龄6岁.按人工耳蜗使用时间长短分为四个阶段进行评估:第一阶段18名患儿,使用人工耳蜗1～12个月;第二阶段12名,使用人工耳蜗13～24个月;第三阶段8名,使用人工耳蜗25～36个月;第四阶段6名,使用人工耳蜗在36个月以上.描述性分析,以问卷的形式了解儿童在人工耳蜗植入后声音接受、言语表达及行为等方面的变化;言语测试,进行言语识别能力和发声能力测试.结果第一阶段患儿,能够感知和辨别来自家庭和环境中的声音;第二阶段患儿,封闭项词识别率是51%,开放项词识别开始启动;第三阶段患儿,封闭项词识别率达到72%,开放项词识别率是40%,能正确发出的单词数是42%;第四阶段患儿,封闭项词识别率和开放项词识别率分别达到84%和53%,能正确发出的单词数达62%,部分患儿已有自发的口语表达.结论人工耳蜗植入对语前聋患儿的言语发育有帮助,患儿的言语能力随着人工耳蜗使用时间的推移不断进步.     

Cochlear implantation outcome in prelingually deafened young adults. A speech perception study

The outcome of cochlear implantation in patients with deafness of prelingual onset is largely unpredictable due to high individual variability. This study evaluated speech perception performances in a group of 18 prelingually deafened subjects (aged 13-30 years) which was homogeneous with respect to duration of deafness, hearing aid use before cochlear implantation, mode of communication and administration of auditory-oral speech therapy. Word discrimination length, word and sentence identification, phoneme identification and word and sentence recognition were tested before cochlear implantation and at 6 months, 1, 2 and 3 years of cochlear implant use. Scores on all tests significantly improved after cochlear implantation, although mean values were lower compared to those achieved by postlingually deafened patients. Speech performances on both word and sentence recognition continued to increase over time also beyond 1 year after cochlear implantation. Moreover, scores on sentence recognition tests were significantly higher compared to disyllabic words at 3 years of cochlear implant use. The presence of an auditory input delivered by hearing aids before cochlear implantation associated with auditory-oral therapy and a good level of education may positively influence the cochlear implant outcome in prelingually deafened adults.     

Pre-implant evaluation of speech and hearing

This paper describes an approach taken to predict, in advance of invasive surgery, whether a permanent cochlear prosthesis will serve as an aid to hearing in postlingually deaf adults. Nine subjects were implanted transtympanically with a temporary single-channel round window electrode. Over the course of one week a number of tests were conducted, including (1) the measurement of current thresholds over a range of frequencies for sine, square and biphasic pulse waveforms and minimum detectable gap between a pair of short bursts; (2) the discrimination of elementary speech features of live voice such as interruption, intonation, and stress placement; (3) the recognition of consonants, and (4) speech tracking. Eight subjects were able to appreciate changes in loudness, pitch, duration and temporal gap for frequencies below 1 kHz. All showed significant improvements over listening with high-power hearing aids in discriminating a variety of changes in elementary speech features. It was found that the recognition of consonants and speech tracking was heavily dependent on lipreading.     

The Vienna cochlear implant program

The cochlear implant program in Vienna has now gathered 160 patient years of experience with 25 patients who have received an extracochlear implant prosthesis and 31 patients who have received an intracochlear implant prosthesis. The sound processor avoids the transformation of speech into pulses and provides a processed analog broad-band stimulation signal. Approximately one half of the patients are prelingually deaf. The selection criteria include electrical promontory stimulation and acoustic and electrical brain-stem audiometry. The rehabilitation program consisting of counseling, communication training, and auditory training is considered an important part of the program. The results are assessed using the Vienna Auditory Test battery. Sixty per cent of the postlingually deafened patients achieve some open-set speech understanding without lip-reading. Sixty-five per cent of the users show a substantial improvement in aided speech understanding versus lip-reading alone.     

The additional hospital costs of the LAURA cochlear implant in the department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery of the University Hospital of Leuven

From the start of 1994 until 1996 ten patients (eight adults and two children) received cochlear implants after careful preoperative selection in our department. Only the deaf adults implanted with the LAURA cochlear implant were included in this retrospective analysis. In this study, the additional hospital costs associated with cochlear implantations were estimated. In doing this, a differentiation was made between ‘fixed’ costs and ‘variable’ costs. In general, the average cost of cochlear implantation was 1,186,741 BF (29,418.54 EUR) per implanted adult and a direct fixed cost of 262,880 BF (6,516.62 EUR) was needed for the computer requisites. In general, the cochlear implant enhance speech-perception scores in the postlingually deafened patients as well as in the prelingually deafened adults. After intensive training, all implanted adults of the University Hospital Leuven could recognize the segmental aspects of speech with scores above the level of significance. Received: 11 May 1998 / Accepted: 4 March 1999     

Variables affecting speech perception in postlingually deaf adults following cochlear implantation

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the time span over which there is greatest improvement in postlingually deaf adults undergoing cochlear implantation. Additionally, to quantify potential patient and device factors that may predict the postoperative results. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A longitudinal study was conducted. Numbers, monosyllables and sentence test results were collected for 66 cochlear implant subjects [Combi 40/40 +, n = 60; Clarion HF2, n = 2; Nucleus 24m/k, n = 4] at regular intervals for up to 6 years following cochlear implantation. RESULTS: All patients showed a steady improvement over time on all tests. Progress during the first 12 months was statistically significant, with further improvements being recorded after the 12-month testing period. The duration of deafness and the number of electrodes (8 for the Combi 40, 12 for the Combi 40 + ) appeared to be weakly correlated with postoperative performance. Re-implantation after device failure had no negative effect on speech reception. Subjects who were "upgraded" from an analogue to a digital cochlear implant improved their test results almost twofold. CONCLUSION: All the patients in our study gained substantial benefit from their cochlear implants. It is encouraging to note that the factors examined were not deemed to be relevant predictors of performance. Even long-term deaf subjects and re-implantees are able to achieve an excellent level of speech perception.     

Effects of insertion depth of cochlear implant electrodes upon speech perception

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the insertion depth of a cochlear implant array affects postoperative speech perception. DESIGN: The subjects were 48 postlingually deaf adults who received either the Nucleus 22 or the Nucleus 24 cochlear implant with a straight array. A postoperative radiograph of the cochlear electrode was used to estimate insertion depth, as either the angle of the electrode tip (angle) or the intracochlear length of the electrode (length). Other estimates of insertion depth included the numbers of active electrodes and channels used by the speech processor. Electrode depth, together with the duration of deafness, hearing aid usage, pre-operative speech perception score and pre-operative pure-tone averages were independent variables in a forward stepwise multiple regression analysis, where the dependent variables were postoperative CNC words and CNC phonemes. RESULTS: Duration of deafness and insertion depth (angle, insertion length or active electrodes) were the predictive variables for CNC words or CNC phonemes. Angle was the best 'depth-related' predictor of postoperative speech perception. An even clearer relationship was found between CUNY sentences in noise and angle, in a subset of 26 patients. CONCLUSION: Depth of electrode insertion affects postoperative speech perception.     

Analysis of outcomes for communication mode in cochlear implant in prelingually deafened adults

ObjectiveRecent studies have suggested that speech perception outcomes after cochlear implantation (CI) in prelingually deafened adults have improved with advances in CI technology and speech processing strategies. However, the outcomes vary from case to case. Communication mode has been reported in many studies as the factor that related to the post CI outcomes. This study aimed at investigating the post CI outcomes and the progress during 2 years for each communication mode.Material and MethodsThe subjects were 17 prelingually deafened adults undergoing CI at our hospital between April 2013 and March 2019. We investigated preoperative factors affecting post CI outcomes. Also we analyzed post CI outcomes for each communication mode and compared preoperative factors for each communication mode.ResultsCommunication mode and preoperative discrimination score were the factor affecting on postoperative discrimination score. The speech perception score after CI improved significantly in the oral and lip-reading group and total communication group. The speech perception scores in postlingually deafened adults improved significantly during the first six months and became to plateau after CI. On the other hand, the scores of prelingually deafened adults tended to improve gradually after six months postoperatively. Furthermore, the degree of improvement and progress differed by each communication mode.ConclusionThe communication mode is important factors in predicting outcomes in prelingually deafened adults after CI. Long-term auditory training is important for prelingually deafened adults who use visual information as their preoperative method of communication.