Tone perception in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants.

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Tone perception in Mandarin-speaking children with cochlear implants.

Int J Audiol. 2017 May 22;:1-11

Authors: Li G, Soli SD, Zheng Y

Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of implant age and duration of implantation on development of Mandarin tone perception in paediatric cochlear implant recipients.
DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional evaluation of tone perception, as assessed with the Mandarin Early Speech Perception test at 3, 6, 12, 24, 36 and 48 months after activation.
STUDY SAMPLE: A total of 143 subjects, 60 girls and 83 boys unilaterally implanted at 1-4 years of age comprised the sample. All the subjects were implanted with devices from one of three manufacturers.
RESULTS: Regardless of implant age, approximately 80% of the subjects obtained overall tone discrimination scores significantly above chance by 4 years after implantation, and average discrimination accuracy increased from approximately 68% to 79%. Acoustically distinct tones 1 and 4 were discriminated and recognised more accurately, while less distinct tones 2 and 3 were discriminated and recognised less accurately. Large individual differences in performance were evident.
CONCLUSIONS: Most Mandarin-speaking paediatric CI recipients discriminate tones above chance at 5 years of age with accuracy comparable to that of children with normal hearing at 2 years of age. Modest benefits of early implantation are evident.

PMID: 28532185 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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