[PS-2.9] Does the Auditory Environment of Children with Cochlear Implant Influence Their Language Development?

Busch, T. 1, 2 , Vanpoucke, F. 2 & van Wieringen, A. 1

1 Department of Neurosciences, Research Group Experimental ORL, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
2 Cochlear Technology Centre, Mechelen, Belgium

Many deaf children receive a cochlear implant (CI) early in life. CIs are hearing prostheses that bypass the damaged cochlea and stimulate the auditory nerve electrically. Although CIs grant access to spoken language, developmental trajectories vary widely. Some variation can be explained by environmental factors: Language development is shaped by the language that children encounter in their environment. Moreover, children with CI are especially vulnerable to noise, and their auditory rehabilitation can be hampered by non-compliance (i.e. low device use). Such factors can be investigated with the Cochlear Nucleus 6. This CI sound processor logs the duration of CI use and time spent in different acoustical environments. Previously, we found substantial variation between children regarding the amount of speech and noise reported in their CI data logs (Busch, Vanpoucke, van Wieringen, in press). In the current study we investigate whether such differences predict language development. In the pilot phase we have collected logs and language tests of n=9 deaf children. Here, we present the outcomes of the exploratory data analysis, specifically evidence for associations between aspects of the CI logs and language test results. We discuss methodological issues and implications for the design of a larger study with adequate power.