Aural/Oral Performance of Children with Cochlear Implant under Monaural and Bimodal Listening Conditions: A Parental Evaluation

Abstract

The study assessed the performance of children with cochlear implant (CI) under monaural and bimodal listening conditions using Parental Evaluation of Aural/Oral Performance of Children (PEACH) questionnaire. A total of 74 children using CI and their parents (either of the biological parent) served as subjects in the present study. The subjects were further divided into two groups based on mode of stimulation used in CI. Group I consisted of children using monaural stimulation in CI i.e. unilateral CI (monaural group). Group II consisted of children using bimodal stimulation in CI i.e. CI in one ear and hearing aid in opposite ear (bimodal group). The results revealed that the subjects of both groups performed significantly poorer under noisy listening conditions compared to quiet listening conditions. The subjects of both the groups performed similar under quiet listening environment. Although, both the groups performed similar under quiet listening condition, the subjects of bimodal group demonstrated significant improvement in aural/oral performance as compared to the subjects of monaural group under noisy listening environment. Thus, it can be inferred that bimodal stimulation in CI provides additional benefits as compared to monaural stimulation in CI especially under noisy listening environments. The findings of the present study complement the existing objective test results which have reported positive outcomes from bimodal stimulation in CI recipients.