BACKGROUND: The communicative benefit of cochlear implantation in congenitally deaf children has been extensively documented. The most frequent complaint made by these patients relates to their difficulty in recognizing and understanding speech signals in a noisy environment. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of semantic context, demographic variables and speech intelligibility on speech perception in noisy environments by children who have received cochlear implants.METHOD: 22 congenitally deaf children with cochlear implants, aged between 8 and 12 years old, participated in the study. Demographics and hearing characteristics, including level of hearing loss, age of diagnosis, age of hearing aid fitting, age of implantation, duration of implant use and test age, were obtained. The children were tested using the speech perception in noise (SPIN) test, which makes use of high-predictability and low-predictability sentences. Speech intelligibility was evaluated through the use of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and the verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ) test. Linear regression analyses were then conducted on the SPIN scores, with adjustment made for demographic variables and speech intelligibility.RESULT: The difference between high-predictability sentences (average score: 57.27%, SD=25.64) and low-predictability sentences (average score: 41.27%, SD 22.03) was significant (t=7.22, p<0.01). Linear regression analysis with demographic variables showed that age of implantation has a negative correlation with SPIN scores (p<0.01). The average scores on the PPVT and VIQ were 96.86 (SD=19.35) and 94.27 (SD=19.46) respectively. A positive correlation was found between VIQ and SPIN scores (p=0.02).CONCLUSION: The results reveal that high-predictability sentences are more easily understood in noisy environments. The negative correlation between age of implantation and speech perception in noise suggests that earlier implantation may lead to better performance in such environments. Better performance was also exhibited in children who had higher verbal intelligence quotients.
BACKGROUND: The communicative benefit of cochlear implantation in congenitally deaf children has been extensively documented. The most frequent complaint made by these patients relates to their difficulty in recognizing and understanding speech signals in a noisy environment. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of semantic context, demographic variables and speech intelligibility on speech perception in noisy environments by children who have received cochlear implants.METHOD: 22 congenitally deaf children with cochlear implants, aged between 8 and 12 years old, participated in the study. Demographics and hearing characteristics, including level of hearing loss, age of diagnosis, age of hearing aid fitting, age of implantation, duration of implant use and test age, were obtained. The children were tested using the speech perception in noise (SPIN) test, which makes use of high-predictability and low-predictability sentences. Speech intelligibility was evaluated through the use of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) and the verbal intelligence quotient (VIQ) test. Linear regression analyses were then conducted on the SPIN scores, with adjustment made for demographic variables and speech intelligibility.RESULT: The difference between high-predictability sentences (average score: 57.27%, SD=25.64) and low-predictability sentences (average score: 41.27%, SD 22.03) was significant (t=7.22, p<0.01). Linear regression analysis with demographic variables showed that age of implantation has a negative correlation with SPIN scores (p<0.01). The average scores on the PPVT and VIQ were 96.86 (SD=19.35) and 94.27 (SD=19.46) respectively. A positive correlation was found between VIQ and SPIN scores (p=0.02).CONCLUSION: The results reveal that high-predictability sentences are more easily understood in noisy environments. The negative correlation between age of implantation and speech perception in noise suggests that earlier implantation may lead to better performance in such environments. Better performance was also exhibited in children who had higher verbal intelligence quotients.