Comparing Fine and Gross Motor Development in Normal Hearing Children, Rehabilitated, and Non-Rehabilitated Hearing-Impaired Children

Background and Aim: Motor development is a continuous process throughout life. Hearing impairment in childhood may have significant effects on motor development. This study compared the motor development of normal-hearing and hearing-impaired children at early developmental ages. Methods: This research was a cross-sectional study. A total of 149 children aged six to eighteen months were selected and divided into three groups: normal-hearing children (NHC) (55 girls and 65 boys) selected by convenient sampling strategy, non-rehabilitated hearing impaired children group (NRHIC) (11 girls and 13 boys) selected by purposive method, and rehabilitated hearing- impaired children group (RHIC) (3 girls and 2 boys) selected by the census method. The Denver developmental screening test 2 (DDST-ll) was used to assess motor development. The obtained data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U tests, and curve drawing. Results: The fine motor development of the NHC (9.63±28.83) was significantly greater than the RHIC (-18 ±26.83) and NRHIC (–21.25±30.26) groups, but there was no significant difference between the RHIC and NRHIC groups. In gross motor development, the NRHIC (–32.71±41.26) group had a more significant delay compared to the NHC (13.38±37.73) and RHIC (0±21.21) groups, but there was no significant difference between the NHC and RHIC groups. Conclusion: Hearing rehabilitation can partially compensate for the developmental delay in gross skills, but this compensation has not occurred for fine motor skills. The development of fine motor skills requires a precise synergy of small muscles and the nervous system. Keywords: Deafness; hearing impaired rehabilitation; motor skills