Effect of entry age of early intervention in hearing-impaired children with cochlear implants

Abstract

This study examined the effect of entry age of intervention in hearing-impaired children with cochlear implants (CI children, n=18), together with hearing-impaired children with hearing aids (HA children, n=26). All these children had a hearing loss of 90 dB or over and had received the same early auditory-verbal/oral intervention program. We assessed their language abilities using the WPPSI Intelligence Test at 6 years of age. Statistic analysis showed that significantly higher Verbal IQ scores (age-appropriate scores) were noted in CI children of entry under 12 months of age and cochlear implantation at 2 years of age than in children of entry at 2 years of age and cochlear implantation at older than 3 years. Compared with a small percentage (14.2%) of language delay (VIQ score below 80) in CI children of entry at 2 years of age, there was a higher percentage (70.0%) of language delay in children with hearing aids of entry at 2 years of age. These results demonstrated a significant effect of entry age of intervention and the significant benefits of cochlear implantation in children with hearing loss of 90 dB or over.