Learning from the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study: summary of 5-year findings and implications.
Teresa Y C Ching, Harvey Dillon, Greg Leigh and 1 others
PMID 29020839WHAT IT FOUND
Earlier fitting of hearing aids or cochlear implants leads to better language and speech outcomes at five years.
This benefit holds across all ages tested, with no lower limit found, even for children with additional disabilities.
Key findings
01The earlier intervention commenced, the better the outcomes for language, functional performance, speech perception, and psychosocial skills at five years of age.
02For children with cochlear implants, language outcomes at five years monotonically increase as the age of implantation decreases, with no limit found down to five months.
03Children with additional disabilities, such as autism or cerebral palsy, showed poorer language outcomes and relative decline compared to norms, but early amplification still improved their language results.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study is quasi-experimental, not a randomized controlled trial, so causal inferences are limited. Findings are from a specific Australian healthcare system with consistent post-diagnostic services, which may not generalize to other regions. The direction of causation between language, speech perception, and psychosocial skills could not be determined. Data on children with additional disabilities showed poorer outcomes, but the specific mechanisms for this decline were not fully explored.
Declared interests
None were declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that early fitting alone guarantees parity with normal-hearing peers, especially for children with additional disabilities or those who need higher signal-to-noise ratios for speech perception.