Profiling of the Functional Status of Hearing Impaired Children Using Cochlear Implant in the Indian Scenario- an ICF Perspective.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the functional outcome of children who underwent Auditory verbal therapy followed by cochlear implantation using The Parents' views and experiences with pediatric cochlear implant questionnaire (PVECIQ). Hearing impaired children who have completed minimum of 5 years of auditory verbal training (AVT) after cochlear implantation was taken up for the study. There were totally 30 males and 20 females, the average age at implantation for these children ranged from 1 year to 5yrs. The Parents' views and experiences with pediatric cochlear implant questionnaire (PVECIQ) was administered by interviewing the parents after taking a written informed consent. The mean scores for each statement and its standard deviation were found out. Distribution across the five response categories was also analysed for each statement to identify the strength of opinion.The percentage of responses under each response category was also calculated. The present study evaluated both hearing and non-hearing aspects of hearing loss under the perspective of ICF. The study has given feedback on the areas where good outcome is shown after use of cochlear implant for 5 years and also the areas where they still experience difficulties and need ongoing support. Even though the children acquired language to a degree capable of communication with others in the society, the speech intelligibility has been a concern for parents. Since CI does not restore normal anatomy of hearing, Children using CI will require ongoing professional and economical support throughout their life, tailored to individual needs of the child to have a better quality of life.