Publication:

Listening skill progress in children with cochlear implants in the first three months after implantation

Background Development of auditory skills is triggered as soon as cochlear implantation is done. Very few studies have reported development of listening skills in cochlear implanted children in the immediate period following the implantation. The present study aims to profile the development of auditory skills in children with cochlear implants during the first three months following implantation.

Methods The tool used is Listening Progress Profile (LiP) which was used to collect information about listening skills one week prior to cochlear implantation, within a week of switch on and once every two weeks till the end of three months after implantation.  Twelve children in the age range of one year to five years with congenital bilateral profound hearing loss, who were scheduled for unilateral cochlear implantation were included as participants.

Results Results indicate a statistically significant improvement in LiP scores at each test interval.  No significant difference was found in the listening skill progress for children implanted before and after three years of age. Younger male participants performed consistently better than older males and younger and older females.

Conclusions LiP can be used as a major tool for assessing the development of listening skills in young children during the immediate post implantation period as it provides detailed information regarding the auditory performance towards a variety of stimuli.