Consistency of hearing aid use, speech perception and vocabulary in hearing impaired children

Purpose  To verify the relationship between consistency in the use of hearing aids, auditory speech perception and vocabulary in children using hearing aids.

Methods  The population of Pereira’s (2023) study was resumed and the database was analyzed containing information about the Speech Intelligibility Index (SII) for input sounds of 65 dBSPL (with or without hearing aids) of 29 children with neurosensorial hearing loss and hearing aid users bilaterally, with oral language, the number of hours per day of use of the device, four-tone average, results of the repetition of words with or without meaning in 65 dBSPL, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – PPVT. The consistency of the use was analyzed through measuring the auditory dosage which takes into account the average of use hours and the audibility with or without the device.

Results  The PPVT has a positive correlation with the SII with the device at 65 dBSPL. The four-tone average has a significant negative correlation with the SII in both conditions; and the same happens with the hours on daily usage. The dosage has a significant positive correlation with the SII and negative with the PTA.

Conclusion  The receptive vocabulary tends to grow alongside with the audibility dosage increment. Results suggest that listening experience, involving the audibility with or without the device and the consistency of the device daily use must be considered throughout the whole process of the rehabilitation.

Keywords:
Vocabulary; Speech Perception; Hearing Aids; Hearing Loss; Child