Longitudinal Infant Speech Perception in Young Cochlear Implant Users

Purpose: This paper presents longitudinal case studies of children who received (cochlear implants) CIs and a controlled sample of children with normal hearing (NH). Phoneme discrimination (i.e., /sa-ma/, /a-i/, /a-u/, /u-i/, /ta-da/, /pa-ka/) was assessed prior to receiving CIs and monthly for 3 mo following CI activation. Research Design: Case studies. Study Sample: Three cochlear implant recipients and seven NH control participants were recruited through the University of Colorado Hospital and the University of Colorado, Boulder. Data Collection and Analysis: The study utilized the visual reinforcement audiometry and interactive play assessment of speech pattern contrasts (VRASPAC) algorithm. A comparison of scoring was conducted using Cohen's kappa to determine interrater reliability. Results: Findings from this study revealed that CI recipients could discriminate at least three out of five phoneme contrasts at mastery level (≥90%) by 2 mo of device use. None of the CI recipients reached mastery prior to implantation. Following 3 mo of CI use there was no difference in contrast discrimination performance between the CI users and their NH age-matched peers (with the exception of /pa-ka/ for one CI user). Conclusions: The CI users in this case study, who were implanted between 12 and 16 mo of age, were able to master the phoneme contrasts regardless of bilateral or unilateral CI, socioeconomic status, or language spoken at home.