Long-term speech perception in children with cochlear implants compared with children with conventional hearing aids.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the speech perception of children with cochlear implants.


METHODS
Speech perception results of seven children with cochlear implants (excellent performers), who showed stable speech recognition scores in the long term, were compared with those of severely hearing-impaired children with conventional hearing aids (reference group). The groups of children were matched according to their mean free-field aided thresholds.


RESULTS
The results of the open-set word recognition test were comparable in the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
If we consider the results of the hearing aid users as the gold standard, the results suggest that speech recognition in selected children with a cochlear implant is close to optimal.
Snik
A F
AF
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Vermeulen
A M
AM
Brokx
J P
JP
van den Broek
P
P
D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003638:Deafness / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D006310:Hearing Aids; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013067:Speech Perception; D013997:Time Factors