语前聋患者人工耳蜗植入术后听觉能力评估

目的通过对129例极重度语前聋患者人工耳蜗植入术后声母、韵母、单音节及双音节词识别能力的评估,研究人工耳蜗植入术后患者的听觉康复效果及相关影响因素。方法选用《听力障碍儿童听觉、语言能力评估标准及方法》作为测试材料,分别测试患者的声母、韵母、单音节词、双音节词识别率,用各分项评估结果的均值代表总体听觉能力,进而研究康复时间、植入年龄、术前配戴助听器经验及性别对听觉能力的影响。结果随着康复时间的延长,听觉能力各分项得分逐渐提高（P〈0．05）。术前、术后6个月及术后1年低龄组与大龄组间总体听觉能力差异有统计学意义（P〈0．05）,术后3个月两组间差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。人工耳蜗植入术前、术后3个月、6个月及1年,男、女组之间总体听觉能力差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）,配戴助听器组与未配戴助听器组间总体听觉能力差异无统计学意义（P〉0．05）。结论人工耳蜗植入能提高语前聋患者的听觉能力。植入时间越长,听觉康复效果越好。植入时年龄越小,术后听觉能力进步越快。大龄语前聋患者植入人工耳蜗后听觉能力仍能获得一定的改善。术前短时间配戴助听器对于极重度语前聋患者术后听觉能力康复无明显帮助。     

Some measures of verbal and spatial working memory in eight- and nine-year-old hearing-impaired children with cochlear implants

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine working memory for sequences of auditory and visual stimuli in prelingually deafened pediatric cochlear implant users with at least 4 yr of device experience. DESIGN: Two groups of 8- and 9-yr-old children, 45 normal-hearing and 45 hearing-impaired users of cochlear implants, completed a novel working memory task requiring memory for sequences of either visual-spatial cues or visual-spatial cues paired with auditory signals. In each sequence, colored response buttons were illuminated either with or without simultaneous auditory presentation of verbal labels (color-names or digit-names). The child was required to reproduce each sequence by pressing the appropriate buttons on the response box. Sequence length was varied and a measure of memory span corresponding to the longest list length correctly reproduced under each set of presentation conditions was recorded. Additional children completed a modified task that eliminated the visual-spatial light cues but that still required reproduction of auditory color-name sequences using the same response box. Data from 37 pediatric cochlear implant users were collected using this modified task. RESULTS: The cochlear implant group obtained shorter span scores on average than the normal-hearing group, regardless of presentation format. The normal-hearing children also demonstrated a larger "redundancy gain" than children in the cochlear implant group-that is, the normal-hearing group displayed better memory for auditory-plus-lights sequences than for the lights-only sequences. Although the children with cochlear implants did not use the auditory signals as effectively as normal-hearing children when visual-spatial cues were also available, their performance on the modified memory task using only auditory cues showed that some of the children were capable of encoding auditory-only sequences at a level comparable with normal-hearing children. CONCLUSIONS: The finding of smaller redundancy gains from the addition of auditory cues to visual-spatial sequences in the cochlear implant group as compared with the normal-hearing group demonstrates differences in encoding or rehearsal strategies between these two groups of children. Differences in memory span between the two groups even on a visual-spatial memory task suggests that atypical working memory development irrespective of input modality may be present in this clinical population.     

Speech and language acquisition in young children after cochlear implantation.

Auditory and speech intelligibility scores of 22 prelingually profoundly deaf children who had used cochlear implants for between 1 and 7 years in an intensive auditory/oral educational program greatly exceeded those previously obtained from similar samples of deaf children using hearing aids. Half of the children obtained language quotient scores within the average range for normal-hearing children and the majority obtained reading quotients within 80% of normal levels. Normal levels of language and reading development were associated with early implantation and open set speech perception.     

听障幼儿人工耳蜗植入术后追赶发育实施效果

目的探讨运用健听小儿听能言语发育进程规律,加速听障幼儿人工耳蜗术后的感知觉发育进程。方法选择1.5～3岁人工耳蜗植入幼儿33例。进行为期5～6个月的听觉言语训练后,考察其追赶发育实施效果。结果听觉感受能力、语言表达能力均有显著改善。结论运用小儿生长发育规律,对听障幼儿实施追赶发育,可缩短开机后听能感知时间,使其尽快在大脑中形成听觉记忆。     

Short-term auditory memory in children using cochlear implants and its relevance to receptive language.

The aim of this study was to assess auditory sequential, short-term-memory (SSTM) performance in young children using cochlear implants (CI group) and to examine the relationship of this performance to receptive language performance. Twenty-four children, 5 to 11 years old, using the Nucleus 22-electrode cochlear implant, were tested on a number of auditory and visual tasks of SSTM. The auditory memory tasks were designed to minimize the effect of auditory discrimination ability. Stimuli were chosen that children with cochlear implants could accurately identify with a reaction time similar to that of a control group of children with normal hearing (NH group). All children were also assessed on a receptive language test and on a nonverbal intelligence scale. As expected, children using cochlear implants demonstrated poorer auditory and visual SSTM skills than their hearing peers when the stimuli were verbal or were pictures that could be readily labeled. They did not differ from their peers with normal hearing on tasks where the stimuli were less likely to be verbally encoded. An important finding was that the CI group did not appear to have a sequential memory deficit specific to the auditory modality. The difference scores (auditory minus visual memory performance) for the CI group were not significantly different from those for the NH group. SSTM performance accounted for significant variance in the receptive language performance of the CI group. However, a forward stepwise regression analysis revealed that visual spatial memory (one of the subtests of the nonverbal IQ test) was the main predictor of variance in the language scores of the children using cochlear implants.     

Receptive language as a predictor of cochlear implant outcome for prelingually deaf adults

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated outcomes and predictive factors, specifically language skills, for a group of prelingually hearing-impaired adults who received a cochlear implant. Design: Speech perception data, demographic information, and other related variables such as communication mode, residual hearing, and receptive language abilities were explored. Pre- and post-implant speech perception scores were compared and multiple regression analysis was used to identify significant predictive relationships. Study sample: The study included 43 adults with a prelingual onset of hearing loss, who proceeded with cochlear implantation at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. Results: The majority of patients experienced benefit from their cochlear implants, with 88% demonstrating significant improvement in speech perception performance. Volunteers achieved better post-operative speech perception scores if they had a shorter duration of severe-to-profound hearing loss, better language skills, and used an exclusively oral communication mode. Conclusions: Although post-operative speech perception performance is significantly poorer for prelingually hearing-impaired adults compared to postlingually hearing-impaired patients, the study group demonstrated significant benefit from their cochlear implants. The variability in post-operative outcomes can be predicted to some extent from the hearing history and language abilities of the individual patient.     

不同训练方法对人工耳蜗植入儿童术后康复效果影响的比较研究

目的：考察3种训练方法对人工耳蜗植入儿童术后康复效果的影响。方法随机选取2～7岁人工耳蜗植入儿童106人,其中34人接受综合感官训练法、36人接受音素辨听训练法、36人接受听觉口语训练法。采用《听障儿童听觉语言能力评估标准及方法》对所有听障儿童进行评估。结果不同训练方法对听障儿童的听觉、语言能力具有显著影响（P〈0.05）。结论综合感官训练法能在一定程度上帮助听障儿童提高语言能力,但听觉能力发展效果不佳;音素辨听训练法可促进听障儿童的细致辨听能力,但语言能力发展有限;听觉口语训练法能使听障儿童的听觉和言语能力得到均衡发展。     

The contribution of short-term memory capacity to reading ability in adolescents with cochlear implants

ObjectiveThis study aimed to establish the relationship between short-term memory capacity and reading skills in adolescents with cochlear implants.Methods and materialsA between-groups design compared a group of young people with cochlear implants with a group of hearing peers on measures of reading, and auditory and visual short-term memory capacity. The groups were matched for non-verbal IQ and age. The adolescents with cochlear implants were recruited from the Cochlear Implant Programme at a specialist children's hospital. The hearing participants were recruited from the same schools as those attended by the implanted adolescents. Participants were 18 cochlear implant users and 14 hearing controls, aged between 12 and 18 years. All used English as their main language and had no significant learning disability or neuro-developmental disorder.Short-term memory capacity was assessed in the auditory modality using Forward and Reverse Digit Span from the WISC IV UK, and visually using Forward and Reverse Memory from the Leiter-R. Individual word reading, reading comprehension and pseudoword decoding were assessed using the WIAT II UK.ResultsA series of ANOVAs revealed that the adolescents with cochlear implants had significantly poorer auditory short-term memory capacity and reading skills (on all measures) compared with their hearing peers. However, when Forward Digit Span was entered into the analyses as a covariate, none of the differences remained statistically significant.ConclusionsDeficits in immediate auditory memory persist into adolescence in deaf children with cochlear implants. Short-term auditory memory capacity is an important neurocognitive process in the development of reading skills after cochlear implantation in childhood that remains evident in later adolescence.     

92例人工耳蜗术后不同阶段康复评估效果分析

目的通过对92例7岁以下植入人工耳蜗的语前聋儿童进行分阶段的听觉、言语康复效果评估,探讨7岁以下儿童植入人工耳蜗后在不同阶段的听觉、语言康复效果及其影响因素。方法本研究采用评估词表及标准评估程序,对测试对象进行听觉能力及语言能力评估。结果听觉言语识别率:术后3个月平均达到46%,6个月达到71%,9个月达到84%,12个月达到89%;语言能力:术后3个月语言年龄平均达到1.3岁,6个月平均达到2.0岁,9个月平均达到2.5岁,12个月平均达到2.9岁。结论人工耳蜗能够帮助重度听力障碍者改善听力,术后经过一年系统康复训练,在听觉识别和语言能力上较术前有显著提高。     

Changes in interpersonal communication in pre- and perilingually deafened children after cochlear implantation

People with deep prelingual deafness cannot fluently use oral language as a basic mode of communication. Hearing impaired subjects elaborated their own mode of communication. Cochlear implants as a surgical mode of deafness treatment may create a new chance for prelingually deaf children to develop vocal speech. The aim of this study was to assess changes in interpersonal mode of communication in pre- and perilingually deaf children after cochlear implantation. It was observed, that cochlear implantation stimulates development of oral language. The possibility of hearing perception of oral language it is a chance for a child for fully participation in life of hearing societies.     

10例人工耳蜗植入儿童术后听觉、言语及学习能力发展研究

目的探讨1～7岁听障儿童植入人工耳蜗后听觉言语康复进展情况。方法在标准声场对10例儿童进行人工耳蜗术后声场听阈测试。利用听障儿童听觉言语康复评估词表在开机后3．6．9、12个月分别进行听觉言语康复评估。采用希-内学习能力测试或格蕾费斯儿童精神发育测试量表进行学习能力评估。结果随着术后康复时间的增加,10名儿童的听觉、言语、学习能力评估成绩逐步提高,提高速度和幅度存在个体差异。结论人工耳蜗植入有助于重度、极重度听障儿童的听力语言康复。术后儿童听觉言语的发展受年龄、智力、耳聋病因及术前助听器配戴情况等因素的影响。     

学龄前听障儿童助听后言语流畅性的特征及影响因素

目的 分析学龄前听障儿童助听后言语流畅性的特征,探讨辅听装置、年龄、性别、语训时长对其言语流畅性的影响.方法 以109例3.5~6.5岁学龄前健听及听障儿童为研究对象,其中健听儿童30例(健听组),双耳佩戴助听器的听障儿童28例(助听器组),右耳植入人工耳蜗的听障儿童26例(人工耳蜗组),同时佩戴助听器和人工耳蜗双耳双模式助听的听障儿童25例(双模式组),通过主题对话的形式分别采集各组儿童的语音样本,比较各组儿童在自发性言语语言任务下的语速、停顿、重复和拖延差异;分析辅听装置、年龄、性别、语训时长等因素对听障儿童言语流畅性的影响.结果 ①健听组儿童的语速显著高于其他三组(P<0.05),健听组停顿次数显著低于人工耳蜗组(P=0.001)和双模式组(P=0.032);健听组拖延次数显著低于助听器组(P=0.001)和双模式组(P=0.001),极显著低于人工耳蜗组(P<0.001);②不同性别听障儿童语速、停顿、重复次数和拖延次数差异无统计学意义(P>0.05),而助听器组语速显著高于人工耳蜗组(P=0.045),人工耳蜗组停顿次数显著高于助听器组(P=0.028);3.5~5岁听障儿童语速显著低于5.1~6.5岁组(P=0.042);语训0~2.5年听障儿童语速显著低于语训>2.5年者(P=0.002),停顿及重复次数均高于语训>2.5年者(分别P=0.047,P=0.02).结论 听障儿童的语速低于健听儿童,停顿次数、拖延次数高于健听儿童;年龄、辅听装置、语训时长影响学龄前听障儿童的言语流畅性,性别影响不大.     

Auditory–cognitive training improves language performance in prelingually deafened cochlear implant recipients

Objectives

Phonological and working memory skills have been shown to be important for the development of spoken language. Children who use a cochlear implant (CI) show performance deficits relative to normal hearing (NH) children on all constructs: phonological skills, working memory, and spoken language. Given that phonological skills and working memory have been shown to be important for spoken language development in NH children, we hypothesized that training these foundational skills would result in improved spoken language performance in CI-using children.

Design

Nineteen prelingually deafened CI-using children aged 4- to 7-years-old participated. All children had been using their implants for at least one year and were matched on pre-implant hearing thresholds, hearing thresholds at study enrollment, and non-verbal IQ. Children were assessed on expressive vocabulary, listening language, spoken language, and composite language. Ten children received four weeks of training on phonological skills including rhyme, sound blending, and sound discrimination and auditory working memory. The remaining nine children continued with their normal classroom activities for four weeks. Language assessments were repeated following the training/control period.

Results

Children who received combined phonological-working memory training showed significant gains on expressive and composite language scores. Children who did not receive training showed no significant improvements at post-test. On average, trained children had gain scores of 6.35 points on expressive language and gain scores of 6.15 points whereas the untrained children had test–retest gain scores of 2.89 points for expressive language and 2.56 for composite language.

Conclusion

Our results suggest that training to improve the phonological and working memory skills in CI-using children may lead to improved language performance.     

植入人工耳蜗与配戴助听器儿童背景噪声下的声调识别

目的 探讨植入人工耳蜗与配戴助听器儿童在声调识别方面是否存在差异,分析背景噪声对听障儿童声调识别的影响.了解在噪声环境中听障儿童声调识别的特点.方法 采用2X4两因素混合实验设计,比较植入人工耳蜗与配戴助听器儿童在不同信噪比条件下(SNR=+12,+6,0 dB)的声调识别能力;采用单因素方差分析,比较不同声调组合识别对听障儿童的难易程度.结果 ①在重建或补偿听阈相似时,植入人工耳蜗与配戴助听器儿童声调识别能力的差异不显著;②在不同信噪比条件下,两组儿童声调识别能力的差异极其显著;③两组儿童均最易分辨一声与四声的差异,最难分辨二声与三声的差异.结论 只要重建或补偿听阈在最适范围,听障儿童便具有一定的声调识别能力,但噪声会对其产生极大的影响.     

Language evaluation in children with pre-lingual hearing loss and cochlear implant

IntroductionThe cochlear implant is an effective device for children with severe and/or profound prelingual hearing loss, since it provides considerable improvement in oral language acquisition through the auditory pathway. The use of a cochlear implant contributes to the development of auditory perception, favoring the acquisition of the linguistic processes related to communication skills, which might have a positive effect on other areas of development.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to verify the performance of children using cochlear implants for expressive and receptive oral language.MethodsThis was a prospective cross-sectional study that used the following tests: Child language test in the phonology, vocabulary, fluency and pragmatics areas, and the Peabody picture vocabulary test. Thirty children participated in this study, of both genders, aged between 36 and 72 months, with severe and/or profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, without other impairments and users of unilateral cochlear implant with full electrode insertion for a minimum of 12 months.ResultsThe longer duration of the cochlear implant use, the younger age at surgery and the better performance in the auditory perception of speech influenced the performance in expressive and receptive oral language. Even though when compared to the normative language acquisition process, the results showed that these children had patterns of linguistic skills that are below their chronological age; the results indicate that these children are developing expressive and receptive oral language skills, and this is the outcome that should be taken into account in this study.ConclusionThe longer duration of the cochlear implant use, the younger age at surgery and the better performance in the auditory perception of speech influenced the performance in expressive and receptive oral language skills, but not in all the studied semantic categories.     

Comparison of outcomes in children with hearing aids and cochlear implants

Abstract

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to document the performance of a group of children with moderately severe to severe hearing loss who use hearing aids on a range of speech recognition, speech–language, and literacy measures and to compare these results to children with severe to profound hearing loss, who have learned language through cochlear implants.

Methods

This study involved 41 children with bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment, aged 6–18 years. Twenty children had moderately severe/severe hearing loss and used hearing aids, and 21 had severe to profound hearing loss and used cochlear implants. Communication and academic skills were assessed using speech recognition tests and standardized measures of speech production, language, phonology, and literacy.

Results

The two groups did not differ in their open-set speech recognition abilities or speech production skills. However, children with hearing aids obtained higher scores than their peers with cochlear implants in the domains of receptive vocabulary, language, phonological memory, and reading comprehension. The findings also indicate that children with moderately severe or severe hearing loss can develop spoken language skills that are within the range expected for normal hearing children.

Conclusions

School-aged children with moderately severe and severe hearing loss performed better in several domains than their peers with profound hearing loss who received cochlear implants between age 2 and 5 years. Further research is required to evaluate the benefits of hearing aids and cochlear implants in children with hearing loss who are diagnosed and receive intervention within the first year of life.     

听障儿童听觉能力发展特点的研究

目的 探讨听障儿童的听觉能力发展特点.方法 对483名1～10岁听障儿童的家长实施<小龄儿童听觉发展问卷>,利用SPSS 17.0分析问卷得分.结果 ①不同生理年龄组儿童的问卷得分存在极显著性差异(F=16.063,P＜0.01),听障儿童生理年龄越大,问卷得分越高;②不同听觉年龄组儿童的问卷得分存在极显著性差异(F=17.168,P＜0.01),听障儿童听觉年龄越大,问卷得分越高;③人工耳蜗组儿童的问卷得分高于助听器组,差异达到极显著性水平(t=2.912,P＜0.01).结论 生理年龄、听觉年龄以及助听设备类型等可能均是影响听障儿童听觉能力发展的因素;干预越早,听障儿童的听觉能力发展越接近于健听儿童.     

Sensorineural hearing loss in children

Sensorineural hearing loss in children, either congenital or acquired, has an incidence of 2-4 per million. Molecular diagnosis of early childhood deafness became available for some types of syndromal and non-syndromal forms and will offer different treatment modalities in the future. Severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss can be effectively treated with cochlear implants. There is evidence of cerebral auditory plasticity under electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve with better performance in early implanted children. Other predicting factors are related to the type of schooling, family support and residual hearing. In the long-term, prelingually deafened children will develop considerable speech perception and production. Children with marginal benefit from hearing aid amplification show significant improvements in speech perception following implantation. Implantation is also possible in cases of cochlear malformation. However, special attention has to be given to the facial nerve, a possible CSF leak and electrode misplacement. Apart from hearing improvement cochlear implants have a positive impact on the family situation, schooling and personal well-being.     

Trends in educational placement and cost-benefit considerations in children with cochlear implants.

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of cochlear implantation on the use of educational resources by profoundly hearing-impaired children and to determine trends in educational cost vs benefit. DESIGN: Retrospective study and cost-benefit analysis. SETTING: Outpatient pediatric cochlear implant program in an academic institution (The Listening Center at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md), in collaboration with public schools in Maryland and surrounding states. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: School-aged children with profound prelingual hearing impairment without other clearly defined disabilities. Thirty-five children with multiple-channel cochlear prostheses and a comparison group of 10 children without implants from 'total communication' programs in the Maryland public school system. INTERVENTIONS: Multiple-channel cochlear implantation and at least 1 year of a systematic auditory skill development program at the Listening Center, compared with standard educational management of children with conventional amplification. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Classroom placement and number of hours of special educational support used. RESULTS: A correlation was observed between the length of cochlear implant experience and the rate of full-time placement in mainstream classrooms (r = 0.10; P= .04). There was also a negative correlation between the length of implant experience and the number of hours of special educational support used by fully mainstreamed children (Pearson product moment correlation = -0.10; P = .03). Children with greater than 2 years of implant experience were mainstreamed at twice the rate or more of age-matched children with profound hearing loss who did not have implants. They were also placed less frequently in self-contained classrooms and used fewer hours of special education support. A cost-benefit analysis based on conservative estimates of educational expenses from kindergarten to 12th grade shows a cost savings of cochlear implantation and appropriate auditory (re)habilitation that ranges from $30000 to $200000. CONCLUSIONS: Cochlear implantation accompanied by aural (re)habilitation increases access to acoustic information of spoken language, leading to higher rates of mainstream placement in schools and lower dependence on special education support services. The cost savings that results from a decrease in the use of support services indicates an educational cost benefit of cochlear implant (re)habilitation for many children.     

Home auditory training program (HAP) for cochlear implantees and hearing impaired children using hearing aids—an outcome of a three-year research project

Introduction  Use of cochlear implants has been a turning point in the life of the hearing-impaired children enabling them to participate in the world of sounds. Research shows that even after cochlear implantation auditory training is necessary as it facilitates the development of verbal skills. A number of kits for auditory training are available in the West. The author had an exposure to a number of auditory training kits in the US, as a part of her Fulbright Research Fellowship. In our country, there is a dearth of such material for auditory training. Besides this, India being a multilingual country, it becomes difficult if not impossible to develop language specific auditory programs. Hence, the need for the project proposal which was to develop material in Hindi and Marathi in the form of kit and CD-ROMs for the various levels of auditory training. Methodology  With the help of latest scientific techniques, material in the form of worksheets, audiocassettes and CD-ROMs were developed and field tested for all four levels of auditory training. Children with hearing impairment using hearing aids and cochlear implants were given auditory training using the developed material. Results  t-test which was carried revealed that there is a significant difference between pre and post training performance of children. Conclusions  A systematic approach in the form of a kit comprising of audio cassettes and CD-ROMs is now available in Hindi and Marathi for use at home for professionals and parents of children with hearing impairment.