Auditory Perception and Speech Production Skills of Children with Cochlear Implant Assessed by Means of Questionnaire Batteries

Objective: The aims of this study were to evaluate early auditory perception and speech production skills, and to compare the outcomes between two groups of children wearing the Nucleus cochlear implant (CI) and Clarion CI. Methods: A total number of subjects were 68 prelingually deaf children who were implanted with a CI at our center, 31 subjects with the Nucleus CI (N-group), and 37 with the Clarion CI (C-group). The early time course of auditory perception and speech production skills were assessed by means of parental interviews using three kinds of questionnaires, the Listening in Progress (LIP) score, the Infant-Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS) and the Meaningful Use of Speech Scale (MUSS). Results: The basement scores for all three test batteries before the use of CI were poorer for the C-group than the N-group. The scores improved rapidly over the initial 6 months and gradually reached a plateauover a 6- to 12-month period. The speech production skills evaluated by MUSS developed much more slowly and took over 3 years to reach a given level. Conclusions: Our pediatric CI users showed steady development of auditory perception and speech production skills after CI without any significant difference between the two groups.