Does early cochlear implantation promote better reading comprehension skills?. (June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Guerzoni, Letizia; Mancini, Patrizia; Nicastri, Maria; Fabrizi, Enrico; Giallini, Ilaria; Cuda, Domenico
• Is Part Of: International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology. Volume 133(2020:Jun.)
• Publication Date: 2020-06
• Subjects: Cochlear implant -- Reading comprehension -- Linguistic ability; Otolaryngology -- Periodicals; Pediatrics -- Periodicals; Otolaryngology -- Periodicals; Pediatrics -- Periodicals; Oto-rhino-laryngologie -- Périodiques; Pédiatrie -- Périodiques; 618.9209751
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2020.109976
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0165-5876

Abstract

Abstract: Objective: to investigate the effect of age at CI activation and to explore the role of other variables such as linguistic skills, stimulation modality and gender on reading comprehension. Study design: Prospective observational nonrandomized study. Methods: 89 children with profound congenital sensorineural hearing loss were included in the study. The mean age at CI activation was 21 months (DS ± 11; range 7–50). The Italian reading standardized test, "Prove di lettura MT", was used to assess reading comprehension. The individual raw data MT score were converted into z scores (expected values: means = 0 and SD = 1). The positive values indicated better performance and negative values indicated worse performance. Results: Early implanted children achieved significantly better reading comprehension skills, 55 out of 89 children are within 1 SD from the overall mean. 34 children (38.2%) attainted MT z-scores less than 1 SD below the mean. Children with unilateral CI performed somewhat worse if compared to bilateral CI and bimodal stimulation mode, although the differences were weakly significant from a statistical point of view. A strong and positive correlation (rho .69, p < .001) was found with the lexical and morphosyntactic comprehension (rho .70, p < .001). Not significantly different values were observed for gender and parental education level. Conclusion: Early cochlear implantation promoted better development of reading skills in children with cochlear implantation. Level of evidences: outcomes research.