Establishment of Reference Values for Early Auditory Preverbal Skills of Children with Cochlear Implants.
Liu Yidi, Long Yue, Wang Xinyu and 3 others
PMID 36482731WHAT IT FOUND
Early implantation leads to faster auditory gains, with children reaching higher scores later.
Large vestibular aqueduct syndrome predicts better early skills, while auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder predicts worse. Reference values for Mandarin-speaking children are now available to guide post-implant expectations.
Key findings
01Children with early cochlear implant activation showed lower initial scores but progressed faster and achieved higher scores in later stages compared to those with delayed implantation.
02Large vestibular aqueduct syndrome was associated with significantly higher early auditory preverbal scores, while auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder was associated with significantly lower scores.
03Reference values for the LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire were established for Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants, accounting for age at activation and hearing age.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
High attrition rates made it difficult to complete all measures at every interval. Factors such as parental involvement, specific rehabilitation methods, and residual hearing status were not fully controlled for. The study population was limited to Mandarin-speaking children in China, which may affect generalizability to other linguistic or cultural contexts. Interpretation of separate domain scores (receptive, semantic, expressive) is exploratory as the LEAQ is designed for total score evaluation.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was supported by various Beijing municipal health and science funds.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that early implantation guarantees immediate high scores. Children with early activation started with lower initial LEAQ scores than those with delayed activation, even though they eventually progressed faster and reached higher levels. Use the reference curves to understand the expected trajectory, not just the endpoint.