Speech perception and speech intelligibility in children after cochlear implantation.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to evaluate the long-term speech perception and speech intelligibility of congenitally and prelingually deaf children after cochlear implantation. It was a longitudinal study following 63 congenitally or prelingually deaf children up to 5 years after implantation. They each received a nucleus multichannel cochlear implant before they were 10 years old.


METHODS
Perception is evaluated using the Test for the Evaluation of Voice Perception and Production (TEPP) and concerns closed- and open-set word and sentence perception without lip-reading. The intelligibility is classified according to the Speech Intelligibility Rating (SIR). The evaluations have been made every 3 months for 1 year, then at 18 months, 2 years, 3 years and 5 years after the cochlear implantation.


RESULTS
After 5 years of implantation, the median percentage of closed-words speech perception (CSW) is 95.5%-93.67% for closed-sentence speech perception (CSS) and 76.3% for open-sentence speech perception (OSS); the median Speech Intelligibility Rating is 3.83.


CONCLUSIONS
Congenitally and prelingually deaf children who receive cochlear implant before the age of 10 years develop speech perception and speech intelligibility abilities. The closed-set perception progresses quickly and seems to reaching a plateau at 5 years post implantation. The improvement of open-sentence perception is not significant until the first year post implantation. The speech intelligibility improves regularly the five first year post implantation.
Calmels
Marie-Noëlle
MN
ENT Department, CHU Toulouse Purpan, 31059 Toulouse, France. calmels.mn@chu-toulouse.fr
Saliba
Issam
I
Wanna
Georges
G
Cochard
Nadine
N
Fillaux
Judith
J
Deguine
Olivier
O
Fraysse
Bernard
B
D001302:Audiometry, Speech; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019929:Cochlear Implantation; D003638:Deafness / Q000151:congenital / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007804:Language Development; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D013065:Speech Intelligibility / Q000502:physiology*; D013067:Speech Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D013068:Speech Production Measurement; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome