The Influence of Hearing Aid Use on Outcomes of Children with Mild Hearing Loss

Purpose: This study examined the effects of consistent hearing aid (HA) use on outcomes in children with mild hearing loss (HL). Method: Five- or 7-year-old children with mild HL were separated into 3 groups on the basis of patterns of daily HA use. Using analyses of variance, we compared outcomes b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of speech, language, and hearing research language, and hearing research, 2015-10, Vol.58 (5), p.1611-1625
Main Authors:	Walker, Elizabeth A, Holte, Lenore, McCreery, Ryan W, Spratford, Meredith, Page, Thomas, Moeller, Mary Pat
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Academic achievement Age Analysis of Variance Articulation (Speech) Assistive Technology Auditory Perception Care and treatment Child Child, Preschool Comparative Analysis Early intervention Female Grammar Hearing Hearing - physiology Hearing Aids Hearing disorders in children Hearing impairment Hearing Impairments Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural - physiopathology Hearing Loss, Mixed Conductive-Sensorineural - rehabilitation Hearing Tests - methods Humans Language Language Acquisition Language Development Language Tests Male Noise Perceptual Masking - physiology Phonetics Regression (Statistics) Speech Perception - physiology Speech Tests Standardized tests Statistical Analysis Studies Treatment Outcome Vocabulary Young Children
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Summary:	Purpose: This study examined the effects of consistent hearing aid (HA) use on outcomes in children with mild hearing loss (HL). Method: Five- or 7-year-old children with mild HL were separated into 3 groups on the basis of patterns of daily HA use. Using analyses of variance, we compared outcomes between groups on speech and language tests and a speech perception in noise task. Regression models were used to investigate the influence of cumulative auditory experience (audibility, early intervention, HA use) on outcomes. Results: Full-time HA users demonstrated significantly higher scores on vocabulary and grammar measures compared with nonusers. There were no significant differences between the 3 groups on articulation or speech perception measures. After controlling for the variance in age at confirmation of HL, level of audibility, and enrollment in early intervention, only amount of daily HA use was a significant predictor of grammar and vocabulary. Conclusions: The current results provide evidence that children's language development benefits from consistent HA use. Nonusers are at risk in areas such as vocabulary and grammar compared with other children with mild HL who wear HAs regularly. Service providers should work collaboratively to encourage consistent HA use.
ISSN:	1092-4388 1558-9102