Electrode discrimination and speech perception in young children using cochlear implants

Abstract

Objective: The aim was to determine the efficacy of a child-appropriate procedure to assess electrode discrimination ability in young children using cochlear implants and to investigate the relationship of electrode discrimination ability and speech perception performance in children implanted at a young age. Design: An adaptation of the play audiometry procedure was used to assess electrode discrimination in seventeen 4- to 10-yr-old children. The children were required to respond with a game-like motor response when a repeating stimulation on a reference electrode 'changed' to a different electrode. They were also assessed on a speech feature discrimination test, a closed-set word recognit..