Speech recognition in noise and the ability to locate sounds improve with a cochlear implant in children with single sided deafness (SSD), according to a German study.

A cochlear implant benefits speech recognition in noise and sound localisation ability in children with single sided deafness (SSD), a study finds. The children in the study were very satisfied with the decision to have undergone a cochlear implantation.

The study found that speech recognition in noise with a cochlear implant compared to the unaided condition significantly improved in all children in different settings. Improvement of the localisation ability was also shown in all children.

All children were very satisfied with the decision to have undergone a cochlear implantation and were all full-time users.

About the study

In the study, children with single sided deafness (SSD) who were provided with a cochlear implant were evaluated.  The children were between 3 and 16 years of age. All implanted children were full-time users regardless of age or duration of deafness before implantation.

Every child underwent multiple audiological tests before and after cochlear implantation. After the cochlear implantation, speech recognition tests in noise were performed. As well as the frequency of implant use was evaluated.

Important to have binaural hearing

Children with single sided deafness (SSD) often show a poorer performance in school, which is attributable to reduced speech discrimination in noise, reduced localisation ability and to a decreased power of concentration due to faster hearing exhaustion. Therefore, it is important to provide children with single sided deafness with adequate hearing amplification to restore binaural hearing, the study states.

A previous study has shown that adults with single sided deafness (SSD) also benefit from a cochlear implant.

The study, “Usefulness of cochlear implantation in children with single sided deafness”, was published in the International Journal of Paediatric Otorhinolaryngology.

Sources: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov and the International Journal of Paediatric Otorhinolaryngology

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