Comparison of Social Interaction between Cochlear-Implanted Children with Normal Intelligence Undergoing Auditory Verbal Therapy and Normal-Hearing Children: A Pilot Study

Impact of Hearing Loss on Social Participation in Children: A Scoping Review

Social participation can be defined as involvement in activities that provide a platform to interact with society and others. Untreated hearing loss effects communication skills, academic achievements, and peer-group interaction. Since a typical body structure and body functioning are essential to demonstrate day to day activities. Altogether these factors can influence the social participation in children with HL. The aim of this study is to systematically review the impact of hearing loss on social participation in children.A literature search was carried out to obtain studies exploring social participation among children with HL. Two authors independently searched four electronic databases, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science. The search strategy was designed by using six main terms 'social participation', 'social engagement', 'social interaction', 'hearing loss', 'hearing impairment', 'hearing disorder', and Boolean operators 'AND', 'OR' were used to make the search strings. The current review included four studies after meeting the eligibility criteria. Findings showed that social participation is affected in children with HL. Reduced hearing ability is one of the factors of reduced social participation in children. Children using hearing aids or cochlear implants, participate more frequently in social activities. The findings of this review suggest that HL is associated with reduced social participation. However, using hearing aids and cochlear implants followed by auditory verbal therapy has significant improvement in social participation. Future studies need to investigate whether early rehabilitation can increase social participation in children.

Hearing and sociality: the implications of hearing loss on social life

Hearing is essential to the formation of social relationships and is the principal afferent of social life. Yet hearing loss, which is one of the most prevalent forms of sensory disability worldwide and is critical for social development, has received little attention from the social interventionalist perspective. The purpose of this mini-review is to describe the basic neurobiological principles of hearing and to explore the reciprocal relationships between social support, hearing loss, and its psychosocial comorbidities. We also discuss the role of social enrichment in sensorineural recovery and identify open questions within the fields of hearing physiology and social networks.

Effectiveness of unified protocols for online transdiagnostic treatment on social-emotional skills and parent-child interaction in school-aged children with cochlear implants

OBJECTIVES

Children with cochlear implants have limitations in emotional and cognitive social maturity which impact on their future emotional, social, and cognitive development. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a unified protocol for online transdiagnostic treatment program on social-emotional skills (self-regulation, social competence, responsibility, sympathy) and parent-child interaction (conflict, dependence, closeness) in children with cochlear implant.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The present study was a quasi-experimental design with a pre-test-post-test and follow-up. Mothers of 18 children with cochlear implant aged from 8 to 11 years were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. 10 weeks of semi-weekly sessions for a total of 20 sessions around 90 min for children and 30 min for their parents were selected. Social-emotional assets, resilience scale (SEARS) and children parent relationship scale (CPRS) were selected to evaluate social-emotional skills and parent-child interaction respectively. We used Cronbach alpha, Chi-square test, independent sample t-test, and univariate ANOVA for statistical analyses.

RESULTS

Behavioral tests had relatively high internal reliability. Means scores in self-regulation was statistically different in pre-test and post-test conditions (p-value = 0.005) and pre-test and follow-up conditions (p-value = 0.024). Total means scores were showed a significant difference in pretest and post-test (p-value = 0.007) not in follow-up (p > 0.05). The interventional program could improve the parent-child relationship only in conflict and dependence (p < 0.05), and it was constant with time (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrated an effect of online transdiagnostic treatment program on social-emotional skills of children with cochlear implants, especially in self-regulation and total score which were stable after three months in self-regulation. Moreover, this program could impact on the parent-child interaction only in conflict and dependence which was stable with time.

Cochlear implantation outcomes in children with global developmental delay

OBJECTIVE

As the number of hearing loss cochlear implant candidates who suffer from global developmental delay has dramatically increased, we aimed to study the prognosis of implantation in this group.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this cross-sectional case-control study, we utilized the Ages and Stages Questionnaire third edition (ASQ-3) to investigate the prognosis of cochlear implantation and its rehabilitation in 26 congenitally deaf children who suffered from global developmental delay compared with those in 25 non-delayed cases with the same conditions in two time periods, namely the first diagnosis of hearing loss and 18 months after the surgery and rehabilitation program. The data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 21 (SPSS-21).

RESULTS

By the time of hearing loss diagnosis (six months old), the performance of all the global developmentally delayed hearing loss children in five subtests of the ASQ-3 scale was significantly lower than that of their non-delayed peers. Meanwhile, they improved significantly in two gross motor and social development subtests 18 months after the surgery and rehabilitation.

CONCLUSION

Along with the general improvement of delay developed children with sensorineural hearing loss after cochlear implantation, global developmental assessment in the process of candidacy and after implantation is an essential factor that needs to be considered.

Alteration of Cortical and Subcortical Structures in Children With Profound Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Profound sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is an auditory disability associated with auditory and cognitive dysfunction. Due to distinct pathogenesis, some associated structural and functional changes within the brain have been investigated in previous studies, but whole-brain structural alterations are incompletely understood. We extended the exploration of neuroanatomic differences in whole-brain structure in children with profound SNHL who are primarily users of Chinese sign language (CSL). We employed surface-based morphometry (SBM) and subcortical analyses. T1-weighted magnetic resonance images of 26 children with profound SNHL and 27 age- and sex-matched children with normal hearing were analyzed. Compared with the normal control (NC) group, children with profound SNHL showed diverse structural changes in surface-based and subcortical analyses, including decreased cortical thickness in the left postcentral gyrus, superior parietal lobule, paracentral lobule, precuneus, the right transverse temporal gyri, and the middle temporal gyrus; a noticeable increase in the Local Gyrification Index (LGI) in the left precuneus and superior parietal lobule; and diverse changes in gray-matter volume (GMV) in different brain regions. Surface-based vertex analyses revealed regional contractions in the right thalamus, putamen, pallidum, and the brainstem of children with profound SNHL when compared with those in the NC group. Volumetric analyses showed decreased volumes of the right thalamus and pallidum in children with profound SNHL. Our data suggest that children with profound SNHL are associated with diffuse cerebral dysfunction to cortical and subcortical nuclei, and revealed neuroplastic reorganization in the precuneus, superior parietal lobule, and temporal gyrus. Our study provides robust evidence for changes in connectivity and structure in the brain associated with hearing loss.

The left lateral occipital cortex exhibits decreased thickness in children with sensorineural hearing loss

Patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) tend to show language delay, executive functioning deficits, and visual cognitive impairment, even after intervention with hearing amplification and cochlear implants, which suggest altered brain structures and functions in SNHL patients. In this study, we investigated structural brain MRI in 30 children with SNHL (18 mild to moderate [M-M] SNHL and 12 moderately severe to profound [M-P] SNHL) by comparing gender- and age-matched normal controls (NC). Region-based analyses did not show statistically significant differences in volumes of the cerebrum, basal ganglia, cerebellum, and the ventricles between SNHL and NC. On surface-based analyses, the global and lobar cortical surface area, thickness, and volumes were not statistically significantly different between SNHL and NC participants. Regional surface areas, cortical thicknesses, and cortical volumes were statistically significantly smaller in M-P SNHL compared to NC in the left middle occipital cortex, and left inferior occipital cortex after a correction for multiple comparisons using random field theory (p < 0.02). These regions were identified as areas known to be related to high level visual cognition including the human middle temporal area, lateral occipital area, occipital face area, and V8. The observed regional decreased thickness in M-P SNHL may be associated with dysfunctions of visual cognition in SNHL detectable in a clinical setting.