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This study aimed to systematically review and critically appraise the literature describing the phonetic characteristics and accuracy of the consonants, vowels and tones produced by Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants (CIs). The protocol in this review was designed in conformity with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. EBSCOhost, PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, ProQuest Central databases were searched for relevant articles which met the inclusion criteria. A total of 18 journal papers were included in this review. The results revealed that Mandarin-speaking children with CIs perform consistently more poorly in their production of consonants, in particular on fricatives, have a smaller and less well-defined vowel space, and exhibit greater difficulties in tone realisation, notably T2 and T3, when compared to their normal-hearing (NH) peers. The results from acoustic and accuracy analyses are negatively correlated with CI implantation age, but largely positively correlated with hearing age. Findings of this review highlight the factors that influence consonant, vowel and tone production in Mandarin-speaking children with CIs, thereby providing critical information for clinicians and researchers working with this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this paper was to highlight the importance of cultural infl uence in understanding hearing-help seeking and hearing-aid uptake. Design: Information on audiological services in different countries and ' theories related to cross-culture ' is presented, followed by a general discussion. Study sample: Twenty-seven relevant literature reviews on hearing impairment, cross-cultural studies, and the health psychology model and others as secondary resources. Results: Despite the adverse consequences of hearing impairment and the significant potential benefits of audiological rehabilitation, only a small number of those with hearing impairment seek professional help and take up appropriate rehabilitation. Therefore, hearing help-seeking and hearing-aid uptake has recently become the hot topic for clinicians and researchers. Previous research has identified many contributing factors for hearing help-seeking with self-reported hearing disability being one of the main factors. Although significant differences in help-seeking and hearing-aid adoption rates have been reported across countries in population studies, limited literature on the infl uence of cross-cultural factors in this area calls for an immediate need for research. Conclusions: This paper highlights the importance of psychological models and cross-cultural research in the area of hearing help-seeking and hearing-aid uptake, and consequently some directions for future research are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This paper reviewed the literature on the trajectories and the factors significantly affecting post-implantation speech perception development in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants (CIs). Design: A systematic literature search of textbooks and peer-reviewed published journal articles in online bibliographic databases was conducted. Study sample: PubMed, Scopus and Wiley online library were searched for eligible studies based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: A total of 14 journal articles were selected for this review. A number of consistent results were found. That is, children with CIs, as a group, exhibited steep improvement in early speech perception, from exhibiting few prelingual auditory behaviours before implantation to identifying sentences in noise after one year of CI use. After one to three years of CI use, children are expected to identify tones above chance and recognition of words in noise. In addition, early age at implantation, longer duration of CI use and higher maternal education level contributed to greater improvements in speech perception. Conclusions: Findings from this review will contribute to the establishment of appropriate short-term developmental goals for Mandarin-speaking children with CIs in mainland China and clinicians could use them to determine whether children have made appropriate progress with CIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]