Desenvolvimento da linguagem em crianças com implante coclear e influência da idade de implantação

Introduction: Cochlear implantation allows auditory stimulation in individuals with bilateral profound hearing loss with limited benefits from conventional hearing aids. This device facilitates language development in children with profound sensorineural congenital hearing loss. The language development of children who use cochlear implants has differences when compared with that of normal-hearing children. This study investigated the linguistic performance of children who use cochlear implant over time and the influence of age at implantation on the results. Materials and methods: Study on the spoken language development in children with profound sensorineural congenital hearing loss implanted between 19 to 60 months of age in Centro Hospitalar de Coimbra. The evaluation instrument was a Portuguese Language Development Test (Teste de Avaliacao da Linguagem na Crianca). The participants were divided into 4 groups, based on age at implantation: before 25 months, from 25 to 36 months, from 37 to 48 months and after 48 months of age. Results: A comparison was made between the results of the four implanted children groups, as well as with normative data available for the test used. The implanted group that showed the best final results and the evolution curve most similar to that of the normative data was the group implanted before 25 months of age. No statistically significant differences were found between the studied groups. Conclusion: The collected data indicates a positive effect of early implantation on language development. The obtained results are in agreement with the literature. New studies should include more individuals and the evaluation of other aspects of child development.