Clinical Value of ITMAIS in the EPLAD Assessment for Profound Hearing Impaired Children with Hearing Aids / 听力学及言语疾病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the clinical value of ITMAIS in the early prelingual auditory development (EPLAD)assessment for bilateral profound hearing impaired children with hearing aids.Methods Profound sensorineural hearing impaired children fitted with hearing aids during October 2008 and July 2011 in our center were recruited in this retrospective study, and they would be tested with the ITMAIS at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months after hearing aids fitting.A total of 51 children were recruited in the study, and divided into 2 age groups according to the age at fitting, 1 yr group (28 children) and 2 yrs group (23 children).Results The EPLAD of children in both groups improved significantly in the first half of year after fitting (P<0.05).The mean EPLAD levels of children in both groups were close to or achieved the mean level of severe sensorineural hearing impaired children without intervention when they had had the hearing aids for 6 months.Conclusion Hearing aids could help the children with profound sensorineural hearing loss to improve the abilities of EPLAD.ITMAIS is a simple, an effective tool for assessing the early outcome of children with hearing aids, especially for the children who could not cooperate with the behavioral hearing test.