Pediatric Aural Rehabilitation Following Cochlear Implantation

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When a hearing loss is detected in a child, an array of reactions may follow. If the parents or guardian decide the appropriate route for their child is a cochlear implant, they must be made aware of the commitment and motivation necessary for the aural rehabilitation process. It is vital for the family, and even the child (dependent on age), understand that undergoing a cochlear implant will not automatically fix or restore the hearing loss. Cochlear implants are just the beginning of a long, yet hopefully rewarding journey that involves the child, his/her caregivers, and the entire health care team, as well as any individual who comes into contact with this child. Everyone in the child’s surrounding must focus on aural rehabilitation immediately post implantation. A service described by ASHA to include “training in auditory perception, using visual cues, improving speech, developing language, managing communication, and managing hearing aids and assistive listening devices” (ASHA). This vague description gives way to many different strategies, and subsequently leads to countless studies intended to determine which are most successful.
One article entitled, “Identification of Effective Strategies to Promote Language in Dead Children With Cochlear Implants,” centers its aural rehabilitation techniques around early intervention and family involvement (Cruz, DesJardin, Marker, Quittner, 2013). These researchers stress that the ideal circumstance is to have a child implanted as early as possible, so that aural rehabilitation can be most effective. Otherwise hearing loss will persist during language learning years, and can lead to severe implications throughout the child’s life. Without sufficient auditory experiences, that child wi...

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...nts. Child Development, 84(2), 543-559. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01863.x

Ertmer, D. J., Jongmin, J., & True Kloiber, D. (2013). Beginning to Talk Like an Adult: Increases in Speech-Like Utterances in Young Cochlear Implant Recipients and Typically Developing Children. American Journal Of Speech-Language Pathology, 22(4), 591-603. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2013/12-0058)

Jackson, C. & Schatschneider, C. (2014). Rate of Language Growth in Children with Hearing Loss in an Auditory-Verbal Early Intervention Program. American Annals of the Death, 158(5), 539-554.

Jeddi, Z., Jafari, Z., Zarandy, M. M., Kassani, A. (2014). Aural Rehabilitation in Children with Cochlear Implants: A Study of Cognition, Social Communication, and Motor Skill Development. Cochlear Implants International: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 15(2), 93- 100. doi:10.1179/1754762813Y.0000000060

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