Analysis of the developmental changes in the auditory behaviors and vocalization among pediatric cochlear implant users

Abstract

　The developmental progress of the auditory behaviors (MAIS scores) and vocalization (MUSS scores) of 32 children using CI were investigated. Children who received CI before the age of four years were evaluated regularly in the preoperative phase and during the first 30 months of CI use, and the following results were obtained.
　1) The average MAIS scores exceeded 70% after 18 months, and the average MUSS scores exceeded 70% after 30 months.
　2) The rate of improvement of both the MAIS and MUSS scores varied according to the domain.
　3) Both the MAIS and MUSS scores were less than 50% in all the domains in the initial improvement period.
　4) In the intermediate improvement period of MAIS, the scores for the “request of auditory input” domain and “sound detection and discrimination” domain improved noticeably.
　5) In the intermediate improvement period of MUSS, the scores for “intended vocalization” domain, “domestic use of speech” domain, and “daily use of speech” domain showed significant improvement. On the other hand, the scores for the “conversation strategy” domain remained at less than 50% even in the later improvement period.
　6) To evaluate the CI performance, it is important to observe the improvement in each domain of auditory behavior and vocalization.