Congenitally deaf children following cochlear implantation.

The aim of this study is to determine the auditory performance of congenitally deaf children following cochlear implantation. A prospective study is undertaken of 71 such children who have been implanted in a dedicated paediatric cochlear implant centre and who have been followed up to 3 years following implantation. All children are aged less than 8 years at the time of implantation and all receive a multichannel cochlear implant system. No child meeting these criteria has been excluded from the study. The average age at implantation is 56.5 months (range 27 to 93 months, standard deviation 15.9 months). Auditory performance is assessed by using the Categories of Auditory Perception (CAP) scale which is developed primarily as a clinical tool for evaluating profoundly deaf young children following cochlear implantation. The median score prior to implantation on this scale is Category 0 (no awareness of environmental sound), at the 1 year interval is Category 4 (discrimination some speech sounds without lip-reading), and at the 2 and 3 year interval, the median score on the CAP scale is Category 5 (understanding of common phrases without lip-reading). These results indicate the ability of cochlear implants to provide significant auditory receptive skills to young congenitally deaf children.