Self-reported Hearing Quality of Life for Adolescent Cochlear Implant Recipients: A Longitudinal Study.

Background:  Clinicians are increasingly interested in self-reported hearing-specific quality of life (HQoL) for cochlear implant (CI) recipients, including pediatric CI recipients.

Purpose:  (1) To compare HQoL of adolescent CI recipients to those of peers with typical hearing (TH); (2) to examine, longitudinally, HQoL for a set of CI recipients; and (3) to determine the effects of child, demographic, audiological, speech perception, and language variables on adolescent HQoL.

Research Design:  Hearing Environments and Reflections on Quality of Life (HEARQL) questionnaires were completed by children with CIs at elementary (HEARQL-26) and adolescent (HEARQL-28) ages.

The Association of Race With Decreased Access to Pediatric Hearing Healthcare in the United States.

Successful intervention to support a child with congenital hearing loss requires early identification and consistent access to frequent professional services. In the early 2000s, the United States implemented an initiative, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI), to provide timely identification and treatment of congenital hearing loss. This national program aims to screen hearing by 1 month of age, diagnose hearing loss by 3 months of age, and provide intervention to infants with hearing loss by 6 months of age.

Common Sounds Audiograms: Quantitative Analyses and Recommendations.

A counseling tool routinely used by pediatric audiologists and early intervention-specialists is the often-named "common sounds audiogram" (CSA). Typically, a child's hearing detection thresholds are plotted on the CSA to indicate that child's audibility of speech and environmental sounds. Importantly, the CSA may be the first item that parents see when their child's hearing loss is explained.

Effects of Segmental and Suprasegmental Speech Perception on Reading in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether suprasegmental speech perception contributes unique variance in predictions of reading decoding and comprehension for prelingually deaf children using two devices, at least one of which is a cochlear implant (CI).

Method: A total of 104, 5- to 9-year-old CI recipients completed tests of segmental perception (e.g.

Considerations in pediatric device candidacy: An emphasis on spoken language.

As cochlear implant (CI) candidacy expands to consider children with more residual hearing, the use of a CI and a hearing aid (HA) at the non-implanted ear (bimodal devices) is increasing. This case study examines the contributions of acoustic and electric input to speech perception performance for a pediatric bimodal device user (S1) who is a borderline bilateral cochlear implant candidate. S1 completed a battery of perceptual tests in CI-only, HA-only and bimodal conditions.

Spectral Modulation Detection Performance and Speech Perception in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients.

Purpose: The aims of this study were, for pediatric cochlear implant (CI) recipients, (a) to determine the effect of age on their spectral modulation detection (SMD) ability and compare their age effect to that of their typically hearing (TH) peers; (b) to identify demographic, cognitive, and audiological factors associated with SMD ability; and (c) to determine the unique contribution of SMD ability to segmental and suprasegmental speech perception performance.

Method: A total of 104 pediatric CI recipients and 38 TH peers (ages 6-11 years) completed a test of SMD. CI recipients completed tests of segmental (e.

Self-reported hearing quality of life measures in pediatric cochlear implant recipients with bilateral input.

Self-reported hearing quality of life (QoL) for pediatric cochlear implant (CI) recipients was examined, asking whether 1) children with CIs have similar QoL as those with less severe hearing loss (HL); 2) children with different bilateral CI (BCI) device configurations report different QoL; and 3) do audiological, demographic and spoken language factors affect hearing QoL? One hundred four children (ages 7-11 years) using bimodal devices or BCIs participated. The Hearing Environments and Reflection of Quality of Life (HEAR-QL) questionnaire, receptive language and speech perception tests were administered. HEAR-QL scores of CI recipients were compared to scores of age-mates with normal hearing and mild to profound HL.

Effects of Early Acoustic Hearing on Speech Perception and Language for Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients.

Purpose The overall goal of the current study was to identify an optimal level and duration of acoustic experience that facilitates language development for pediatric cochlear implant (CI) recipients-specifically, to determine whether there is an optimal duration of hearing aid (HA) use and unaided threshold levels that should be considered before proceeding to bilateral CIs. Method A total of 117 pediatric CI recipients (ages 5-9 years) were given speech perception and standardized tests of receptive vocabulary and language. The speech perception battery included tests of segmental perception (e.

The Effect of Cochlear Implant Interval on Spoken Language Skills of Pediatric Bilateral Cochlear Implant Users.

Objective: To examine the effects of cochlear implant (CI) interval (time between CI surgeries) on receptive vocabulary and receptive language skills for children with bilateral CIs.

Study Design: A prospective cross-sectional study design.

Setting: Participants were recruited from, and tested at, oral schools for the deaf and pediatric audiology clinics across the United States.

Preimplant Hearing Aid Fittings and Aided Audibility for Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients.

Background: Audibility of speech for children with hearing loss (HL) depends on the degree of HL and the fitting of the hearing aids (HAs) themselves. Many studies on cochlear implant (CI) users have demonstrated that preimplant hearing is associated with postimplant outcomes, but there have been very few reports on the fitting of HAs before surgery.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to characterize HA fittings and aided audibility of speech for pediatric HA users with severe to profound HL and to examine the relation between preimplant aided audibility and postimplant speech perception.

Effects of Early Auditory Deprivation on Working Memory and Reasoning Abilities in Verbal and Visuospatial Domains for Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients.

Objectives: The overall goal of this study was to compare verbal and visuospatial working memory in children with normal hearing (NH) and with cochlear implants (CI). The main questions addressed by this study were (1) Does auditory deprivation result in global or domain-specific deficits in working memory in children with CIs compared with their NH age mates? (2) Does the potential for verbal recoding affect performance on measures of reasoning ability in children with CIs relative to their NH age mates? and (3) Is performance on verbal and visuospatial working memory tasks related to spoken receptive language level achieved by children with CIs?

Design: A total of 54 children ranging in age from 5 to 9 years participated; 25 children with CIs and 29 children with NH. Participants were tested on both simple and complex measures of verbal and visuospatial working memory.

Segmental and Suprasegmental Perception in Children Using Hearing Aids.

Background: Suprasegmental perception (perception of stress, intonation, "how something is said" and "who says it") and segmental speech perception (perception of individual phonemes or perception of "what is said") are perceptual abilities that provide the foundation for the development of spoken language and effective communication. While there are numerous studies examining segmental perception in children with hearing aids (HAs), there are far fewer studies examining suprasegmental perception, especially for children with greater degrees of residual hearing. Examining the relation between acoustic hearing thresholds, and both segmental and suprasegmental perception for children with HAs, may ultimately enable better device recommendations (bilateral HAs, bimodal devices [one CI and one HA in opposite ears], bilateral CIs) for a particular degree of residual hearing.

The Effects of Auditory Contrast Tuning upon Speech Intelligibility.

We have previously identified neurons tuned to spectral contrast of wideband sounds in auditory cortex of awake marmoset monkeys. Because additive noise alters the spectral contrast of speech, contrast-tuned neurons, if present in human auditory cortex, may aid in extracting speech from noise. Given that this cortical function may be underdeveloped in individuals with sensorineural hearing loss, incorporating biologically-inspired algorithms into external signal processing devices could provide speech enhancement benefits to cochlear implantees.

The Effects of Preprocessing Strategies for Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients.

Background: Cochlear implants (CIs) have been shown to improve children's speech recognition over traditional amplification when severe-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss is present. Despite improvements, understanding speech at low-level intensities or in the presence of background noise remains difficult. In an effort to improve speech understanding in challenging environments, Cochlear Ltd.

Evaluation of hearing aid frequency response fittings in pediatric and young adult bimodal recipients.

Background: A coordinated fitting of a cochlear implant (CI) and contralateral hearing aid (HA) for bimodal device use should emphasize balanced audibility and loudness across devices. However, guidelines for allocating frequency information to the CI and HA are not well established for the growing population of bimodal recipients.

Purpose: The study aim was to compare the effects of three different HA frequency responses, when fitting a CI and an HA for bimodal use, on speech recognition and localization in children/young adults.

The effects of audibility and novel word learning ability on vocabulary level in children with cochlear implants.

Objectives: A novel word learning (NWL) paradigm was used to explore underlying phonological and cognitive mechanisms responsible for delayed vocabulary level in children with cochlear implants (CIs).

Methods: One hundred and one children using CIs, 6-12 years old, were tested along with 47 children with normal hearing (NH). Tests of NWL, receptive vocabulary, and speech perception at 2 loudness levels were administered to children with CIs.

Interdependence of linguistic and indexical speech perception skills in school-age children with early cochlear implantation.

Objectives: This study documented the ability of experienced pediatric cochlear implant (CI) users to perceive linguistic properties (what is said) and indexical attributes (emotional intent and talker identity) of speech, and examined the extent to which linguistic (LSP) and indexical (ISP) perception skills are related. Preimplant-aided hearing, age at implantation, speech processor technology, CI-aided thresholds, sequential bilateral cochlear implantation, and academic integration with hearing age-mates were examined for their possible relationships to both LSP and ISP skills.

Design: Sixty 9- to 12-year olds, first implanted at an early age (12 to 38 months), participated in a comprehensive test battery that included the following LSP skills: (1) recognition of monosyllabic words at loud and soft levels, (2) repetition of phonemes and suprasegmental features from nonwords, and (3) recognition of key words from sentences presented within a noise background, and the following ISP skills: (1) discrimination of across-gender and within-gender (female) talkers and (2) identification and discrimination of emotional content from spoken sentences.

A longitudinal study of speech perception skills and device characteristics of adolescent cochlear implant users.

Background: For pediatric cochlear implant (CI) users, CI processor technology, map characteristics, and fitting strategies are known to have a substantial impact on speech perception scores at young ages. It is unknown whether these benefits continue over time as these children reach adolescence.

Purpose: To document changes in CI technology, map characteristics, and speech perception scores in children between elementary grades and high school, and to describe relations between map characteristics and speech perception scores over time.

Factors contributing to speech perception scores in long-term pediatric cochlear implant users.

Objectives: The objectives of this report are to (1) describe the speech perception abilities of long-term pediatric cochlear implant (CI) recipients by comparing scores obtained at elementary school (CI-E, 8 to 9 yrs) with scores obtained at high school (CI-HS, 15 to 18 yrs); (2) evaluate speech perception abilities in demanding listening conditions (i.e., noise and lower intensity levels) at adolescence; and (3) examine the relation of speech perception scores to speech and language development over this longitudinal timeframe.

Cochlear implant characteristics and speech perception skills of adolescents with long-term device use.

Objective: Updated cochlear implant technology and optimized fitting can have a substantial impact on speech perception. The effects of upgrades in processor technology and aided thresholds on word recognition at soft input levels and sentence recognition in noise were examined. We hypothesized that updated speech processors and lower aided thresholds would allow improved recognition of soft speech without compromising performance in noise.

Two ears and two (or more?) devices: a pediatric case study of bilateral profound hearing loss.

Advances in technology and expanding candidacy guidelines have motivated many clinics to consider children with precipitously sloping high-frequency hearing loss as candidates for cochlear implants (CIs). A case study is presented of a pediatric CI patient whose hearing thresholds were preserved within 10 dB of preimplant levels (125-750 Hz) after receiving a fully inserted 31.5-mm electrode array at one ear.

The effect of instantaneous input dynamic range setting on the speech perception of children with the nucleus 24 implant.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a wider instantaneous input dynamic range (IIDR) setting on speech perception and comfort in quiet and noise for children wearing the Nucleus 24 implant system and the Freedom speech processor. In addition, children's ability to understand soft and conversational level speech in relation to aided sound-field thresholds was examined.

Design: Thirty children (age, 7 to 17 years) with the Nucleus 24 cochlear implant system and the Freedom speech processor with two different IIDR settings (30 versus 40 dB) were tested on the Consonant Nucleus Consonant (CNC) word test at 50 and 60 dB SPL, the Bamford-Kowal-Bench Speech in Noise Test, and a loudness rating task for four-talker speech noise.

Relation of electrically evoked compound action potential thresholds to behavioral T- and C-levels in children with cochlear implants.

Objective: This study examined the relation of electrically evoked compound action potential thresholds obtained using neural response telemetry (NRT) to T- and C-levels in children's speech processor programs optimized for recognition of very soft to loud sounds while ensuring tolerance of very loud sounds.

Design: Forty-one children (age 2 to 14 yr) with stable electrical hearing participated. All children were Nucleus 24 System recipients and attended one of three auditory-oral schools that have on-site pediatric audiologists experienced at cochlear implant programming.

Audibility and speech perception of children using wide dynamic range compression hearing AIDS.

Purpose: This study examined the relation of audibility for frequency-specific sounds and the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) to speech perception abilities of children with sensorineural hearing loss using digital signal-processing hearing aids with wide dynamic range compression.

Method: Twenty-six children age 5-15 years with pure-tone averages (0.5, 1.