Early sound deprivation and long-term hearing.

The long-term effects of hearing loss in early life were analyzed by tests of central auditory function. A majority of individuals failed the Compressed Speech identification with statistically significant results. There was an impact on a minority of individuals evaluated by Dichotic Sentences; little impairment was noted through Speech Reception in Noise. Delayed maturation of the central auditory complex may improve these findings, although during the period of investigation a negative impact was measured. Other issues of diagnosis, remediation, and the consequences of short- and long-term deafness are discussed.