Variables pertinent to successful habilitation of delayed cochlear implantation in prelingual children

Abstract It is well known that the duration of deafness is a crucial prognostic factor for the results of a cochlear implant. Nevertheless, this fact does not justify the absolute contraindication of late cochlear implantation in well-selected prelingually deafened children. The aim of this study is to investigate the factors, which might be of relevance to improved speech perception skills, speech and language production skills in this particular group of children. Fifteen children were enrolled in this study; they all had prelingual deafness (mean age at onset of deafness was 1 year). The mean age at implantation was 5.8 years. A hierarchy of listening skills, speech production and spoken language skills were evaluated prior to their receiving the multichannel cochlear implant and at subsequent intervals. Most of the children showed capability to recognize auditory information in a closed-set context, however variable degrees of improvement were reached in open-set speech recognition. They all showed improved speech and language production skills. However, some differences were found between the good and poor performance patients depending on several variables such as motivation and participation of the parents, regularity of attendance, long-term implant experience with consistent use of the device and an aural–oral educational placement.