Assessment of Speech Perception Abilities in Cochlear Implant Children

The ability to perceive speech is a key sign of language development and normal speech. The current study was designed to measure the speech perception abilities in children with cochlear implant both in subjective and objective mannersThe research has been reviewed and approved by Medical ethical Committee and Thai Clinical Trials registry Committee. Sixty children age range from five to eight years with a pre-lingual bilateral profound sensori-neural hearing loss, fitted with a cochlear implant for two years or more were included. They were divided into two equal groups {thirty children in each group}; group I with good progress in auditory training and language acquisition and group II with poor progress in auditory training and language acquisition. Speech perception abilities were evaluated subjectively via Speech perception tests and objectively by measuring cortical evoked potentials. The results of speech perception tests and cortical evoked potential were analyzed and correlated. There was a statically significant difference in the mean & SD of speech perception test results and the aided P1 latency, amplitude of cortical evoked potential between the two groups. There was negative correlation between P1 latency and speech perception tests and a positive correlation between P1 amplitude and speech perception tests in both groups.The cortical evoked potential is correlated with the speech perception ability which can help in objective prediction of speech perception abilities in CI children.