| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
|
| Year : 2017 | Volume
: 19
| Issue : 1 | Page : 20-24 |
|
|
Effect of age of hearing aid fitting on cochlear implant outcomes
Farid Alzhrani1, Sabah Mohammed Hassan2, Abdulrahman AlSanosi1
1 King Abdullah Ear Specialist Center (KAESC), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2 ENT Department Medical College, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt
Correspondence Address:
MD, KSUF Abdulrahman AlSanosi
Saudi Arabia
MD Farid Alzhrani
King Abdulaziz University Hospital, King Saud University, PO. Box 245, Riyadh 11411
Saudi Arabia
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/1319-8491.275309
|
|
|
Objective: To determine the effect of age of hearing aid (HA) fitting on cochlear implant (CI) outcomes, in terms of language development, auditory skills, speech perception, production outcomes and speech intelligibility skills.
Methods: Sixty seven children were included in the study. Children were divided into 2 groups according to age at HA fitting. Group 1 was fitted with HA before the age of 3 years. Children in Group 2 were fitted with HA after the age of 3 years. All children were evaluated preoperatively and at 12, 24, 36 months of device experience using the language screening test, Standardized Arabic Language test, Listening Progress Profile (LiP Test), the Monosyllabic-Trochee-polysyllabic Test (MTP), and Speech Intelligibility Test.
Results: Group 1 (n=39) had a mean age at HA fitting of 22.13 months and mean age at implantation of 32.26. Group 2 (n=28) had a mean age of HA fitting of 42.04 months and mean age at implantation of 67.86.Preoperatively, Group 2 had a significantly higher language age, LiP test score, and MTP score than did Group 1. After 36 months of device experience, no significant difference was found between the groups’ results. Group 1 had higher language age, LiP test score,and MTP score. Group 1 had a significantly higher speech intelligibility than Group 2 at 12, 24, and 36 months device experience.
Conclusions: Children who were fitted early with HAs were early implanted (under the 3 years of age), and had better auditory skill, speech perception, and language production outcomes. Limited resources and the absence of a national hearing screening program in Saudi Arabia result in the late presentation of children for evaluation and intervention; this late intervention negatively impacts the development of the language skills of late-implanted children.
|
|
|
|
| [FULL TEXT] [PDF]* |
|
 |
|
