Home Auditory Environments of Children With Cochlear Implants and Children With Normal Hearing.
Yuanyuan Wang, Molly Cooke, Jessa Reed and 2 others
PMID 34582393WHAT IT FOUND
Children with cochlear implants did not show the typical age-related increase in conversational turns and vocalizations seen in peers with normal hearing.
However, they experienced significantly less background noise. Earlier implant activation and higher maternal education were associated with more interaction.
Key findings
01Conversational turns and child vocalizations increased with age for children with normal hearing, but did not change with age for children with cochlear implants.
02Children with normal hearing were exposed to a larger amount of non-speech noise than children with cochlear implants.
03For children with cochlear implants, earlier implant activation and higher maternal education were significantly associated with increased conversational turns.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small (16 children with cochlear implants), which limits the generalizability of the findings. The LENA system cannot distinguish between speech directed at the child and speech overheard by the child, so it is unclear if the quality of direct interaction differed between groups. The study only captured auditory information, missing visual cues like sign language or gestures, which were used by some families. The study did not analyze the impact of early intervention services or the children's actual language skills on the home environment.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the lower noise levels in homes of children with cochlear implants as evidence of a better auditory environment. This reduction in background noise did not translate into increased conversational turns or child vocalizations, which remained flat with age unlike the typical increase seen in children with normal hearing.