The effects of hearing level on auditory performance in infants with hearing aids / 临床耳鼻咽喉头颈外科杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE@#The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of hearing level on auditory performance in infants with hearing aids and provide a clinical database for their hearing and speech habilitation.@*METHOD@#A total of 32 infants with prelingual hearing loss participated in this study, ranging in age at hearing aid fitting from 3 to 34 months with a mean of 16 months. According to their hearing level, they were divided into three groups. Infants in group A were with moderate hearing loss (41-60 dB HL). Infants in group B were with severe hearing loss (61-80 dB HL). Infants in group C were with profound hearing loss (>81 dB HL). The infant-toddler meaningful auditory integration scale (IT-MAIS) was used to evaluate their auditory performance. The evaluation was performed before hearing aid fitting and 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 months after fitting.@*RESULT@#The mean scores of auditory performance showed significant improvements with time of hearing aid use for the three groups of infants (P 0.05). However, significant differences were observed between group A and C at 3, 6, 9, 12 months after fitting (P < 0.05). Significant differences were also shown between group B and C at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12 months after fitting (P < 0.05).@*CONCLUSION@#Auditory performance of infants with prelingual hearing loss developed significantly with the use of hearing aids within the first year after fitting. The degree of hearing loss in infants had significant influence on the development of auditory performance.