Young cochlear implant users' auditory development as measured and monitored by the LittlEARS® Auditory Questionnaire: a Turkish experience

Younger Age at Cochlear Implant Activation Results in Improved Auditory Skill Development for Children With Congenital Deafness

PURPOSE

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration indications for cochlear implantation in children is currently 9 months of age and older for children with bilateral profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Studies have shown that earlier activation of a cochlear implant (CI) can lead to better spoken language outcomes. As auditory skills are a precursor to the development of spoken language, this study was developed to investigate the influence of age at CI activation on auditory skill acquisition in young children. A secondary aim was to describe the auditory skills of children implanted prior to 9 months of age as compared to children with older ages of activation.

METHOD

Functional Listening Index (FLI) scores obtained during routine clinical visits were reviewed for 78 pediatric CI recipients with congenital bilateral profound hearing loss who were activated before 2 years of age. A linear mixed-effects model assessed the effect of age at CI activation on cumulative FLI scores over time.

RESULTS

There was a significant interaction between age at activation and chronological age at the time of evaluation, indicating that children with earlier access to sound achieved a greater number of auditory skills than those with later CI activations when measured at the same chronological age. Children activated before the age of 9 months approximated scores expected of children with typical hearing, whereas children activated between 9 and 24 months of age did not.

CONCLUSIONS

Younger age at CI activation is associated with increased auditory skills over time. Children who undergo cochlear implantation and CI activation before 9 months achieve more auditory skills by 4 years of age than children who are activated at later ages. These data suggest that reducing the approved age at cochlear implantation for children with congenital bilateral profound SNHL may support optimal auditory skill acquisition.

[Common tools of auditory function assessment in infants and toddlers]

With the prevalence of early hearing detection and intervention program in China, more and more infants and toddlers with hearing loss can be diagnosed and treated timely. During the process, evaluation of auditory function is of great importance, which can fully reflect the outcomes of auditory intervention. With the variety of auditory function evaluation tools, we should concern the psychometric properties and clinical applications of each tool before application.

Validation of the LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire in cochlear implanted infants and toddlers

OBJECTIVES

The LittlEARS Auditory Questionnaire (LEAQ) has so far been validated to assess auditory development in groups of normal-hearing children in over 20 different languages. Considering the huge variability in auditory development of CI children, especially since candidacy criteria have been relaxed, additional evidence to validate the use of LEAQ scores in this particular population is needed. The aim of this study is to provide evidence for the reliability and validity of LEAQ scores for assessing the auditory development of CI infants and toddlers based on an evaluation of LEAQ's internal structure and its relation to other variables.

METHODS

The study was prospective, with sequential enrolment and within-subject repeated measures. It included 122 children with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss implanted at 6-22 months of age. All children were evaluated with the Polish version of LEAQ on the first day of CI activation and at each of four follow-up visits related to sound processor fitting. The study was undertaken in the light of current psychometric thinking about how assessment instruments should be validated. The main aim of the study was to obtain evidence for the validity of interpreting LEAQ measures from CI children in terms of auditory development. First, in order to collect evidence for score reliability and validity based on LEAQ's internal structure, the psychometric properties of LEAQ scores from CI children were determined. A second step was to confirm validity by investigating the effect of concomitant variables on LEAQ scores. Correlations between LEAQ score and duration of hearing aid (HA) use, and between LEAQ score and duration of CI use, were investigated. Additionally, group differences in LEAQ scores between: 1) early and late implanted children; 2) children with long and short HA experience prior to implantation; and 3) children who showed responses over a wide frequency range from using their HAs (prior to implantation) vs those who did not.

RESULTS

On each of the five administrations of LEAQ, the item difficulty indices increased (meaning the items became easier) and over the series they progressively increased with a range of: 0.01-0.62, 0.03-0.92, 0.09-1.00, 0.26-1.00, and 0.52-1.00. At the same time, item-total correlations were in the ranges: 0.09-0.77, 0.26-0.62, 0.00-0.65, 0.00-0.65, and 0.00-0.67. Cronbach's alpha values were above 0.80 for all administrations. A positive correlation between LEAQ score and duration of HA use, and subsequent duration of CI use (hearing experience) was found. When the children were stratified into groups according to age at cochlear implantation, duration of HA use before implantation, and audibility provided by HAs prior to implantation, the differences between the groups were reflected in both their rate of auditory development and their LEAQ score.

CONCLUSION

The interpretation of LEAQ scores from CI children in terms of auditory development was supported by the validity evidence of internal structure and from a logical relationship to other variables. (1) Psychometric properties - item difficulty, item-total correlations, and Cronbach's alpha values - indicate that LEAQ measures are highly consistent and reliably gauge the level of a CI child's auditory development. (2) There was a positive correlation between LEAQ scores and the duration of hearing experience with HAs and a later CI; similarly, there were significant differences between groups of children stratified according to the age at cochlear implantation, duration of HA use before implantation, and audibility provided by HAs prior to implantation, all of which demonstrate the expected relation between LEAQ score and concomitant variables.

Methods and preliminary outcomes of pediatric auditory brainstem implantation

OBJECTIVE

The objective was to provide information about methods used and preliminary outcomes for pediatric ABI (auditory brainstem implant).

STUDY DESIGN

An analysis of outcome was performed in children who received an ABI.

METHODS

Twelve children received a MED-EL ABI system. Progress in audition and language was monitored through parental reports, questionnaires, profiles, and closed-set tests.

RESULTS

The median number of active electrodes was 9 of 12. Seven of 12 users consistently respond to sound, and 5 of 12 do not. Highest performers can recognize words in small sets and have begun to use some words.

CONCLUSION

Auditory brainstem implants appear to be beneficial for some pediatric patients who cannot benefit from traditional cochlear implant surgery. Benefits in the short-term can be recognition of environmental sounds, recognition of some words and very commonly used phrases, and the beginning use of words. Although some of our ABI users demonstrate no response to sound, they do want to wear their sound processors all waking hours. The cause of lack of response may be related to the second intervention, which might have led to displacement of the electrode array, or presence of additional handicaps or syndromes. However, the results are less than optimal. The relatively short postoperative follow-up duration is a considered weakness of this study.

Assessment of early auditory development of very young Finnish children with LittlEARS(®) Auditory Questionnaire and McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories

OBJECTIVES

We analysed the Finnish version of the LittlEARS(®) Auditory Questionnaire as a method for assessing very young children's early auditory, pre-verbal and emerging verbal development. We also examined whether any background factors exist that influence the results and thus the usability of this method. To determine its potential in assessment, the Finnish version of the LittlEARS(®) Auditory Questionnaire was analysed in relation to the Finnish McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories. The latter is currently the method most commonly used together with parental interviews. However, this method is neither designed for infants younger than 8 months nor is its main emphasis on auditory development. Thus, we investigated whether the Finnish version of LittlEARS(®) Auditory Questionnaire could supplement the Finnish McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories and thereby help in detecting children with hearing impairments.

METHODS

Normative data were collected for Finnish children with normal hearing (N=318) using the LittlEARS(®) Auditory Questionnaire and an abridged version of the Finnish McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories. In addition, background information was collected with a questionnaire designed for this study. The results of these questionnaires were analysed in relation to each other.

RESULTS

Statistical analysis showed that the results gained with the Finnish version of LittlEARS(®) Auditory Questionnaire and the abridged version of the Finnish McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories are closely related. However, the LittlEARS(®) Auditory Questionnaire manages to capture the earlier and subtler changes that occur in infancy, therefore making a good continuum with McArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories. Also, most background factors, such as parents' educational level, did not affect the results significantly, rendering the LittlEARS(®) Auditory Questionnaire a valuable method for assessment of early auditory development in very young children.

CONCLUSIONS

The Finnish version of the LittlEARS(®) Auditory Questionnaire is a reliable assessment tool with no confounding background factors. It enables evaluation of the early auditory development in even the youngest of children.