Evaluation and comparison of consonant production in cochlear-implanted children

AbstractIntroduction: Since hearing is the most important faculty for normal development of speech and language, inadequate reception of acoustic stimuli makes deaf children unable to comprehend and produce the speech. Cochlear implant provides the recipient with suitable auditory input hence forming a basis for consonant perception and production. Therefore, many changes in consonant production and speech intelligibility are expected after implantation. This research aimed to study and compare consonant production according to the length of auditory experience with cochlear implant system.Materials and Methods: the total number articulatory errors occurred during connected speech and naming individual pictures was calculated in 20 cochlear-implanted children. These subjects were divided into 3 groups according to the length of cochlear implant system usage. The relationship between length of CI usage and the total number of articulatory errors were investigated through statistical methods.Results: In picture naming, there was a significant difference between 3 above-mentioned groups according to the mean of articulatory errors on different word positions (P=0/004, α=0/05). But there was no observed significant difference among these groups with respect to connected speech.Conclusion: The results indicated that on single-word level, there is a significant decrease in articulatory errors for each year elapsed after implantation. However a longer period of time, namely more than 3 years, is needed for a significant decrease in articulatory errors during connected speech.Key words: speech production, connected speech, cochlear implant, intelligibility, consonant production.