Long-term results of early cochlear implantation in congenitally and prelingually deafened children.

Cochlear implants have been shown to improve the speech perception and production skills in children. Data are available on congenitally and prelingually deafened children who were implanted at an older age, but data on children implanted below the age of 3 years are scarce. The present study examines the benefits obtained with early implantation of the young deaf child. Fourteen congenitally or prelingually profoundly hearing-impaired children were implanted before the age of 3 years, with the Nucleus multichannel cochlear prosthesis, and followed for 2-5 years. Results indicate an overall improvement in the perception of all aspects of the speech signal in the auditory-only condition with the cochlear implant. All the children use oral language as their primary mode of communication and attend regular schools. Based on the results of this investigation, the authors conclude that implantation of the young deaf child is beneficial to the development of auditory perceptual skills.