Auditory and language skills in children with auditory brainstem implants.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to characterize the development of auditory and language skills in children during the first 3 years of auditory brainstem implant (ABI) use.

METHOD: It is a retrospective longitudinal analysis of auditory and language skills in 12 children and pre-adolescents with pre-lingual deafness following ABI surgery (mean age at surgery: 4 years; age range: 2-11 years). Responses were analyzed aboutInfant Toddler Meaningful Auditory Integration Scale (IT-MAIS), MAIS, and Meaningful Use of Speech Scale (MUSS) at 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months after ABI activation.

RESULTS

Maximum IT-MAIS/MAIS and MUSS scores after 3 years of ABI use were 45.35% and 35.28%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Pediatric patients exhibit slow progressive development of auditory and language skills following ABI activation.