PERFORMANCE OF 2-YEAR-OLD AND 3-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN AND PREDICTION OF 4-YEAR FROM 1-YEAR PERFORMANCE

Objective: To examine whether children perform better when they receiv e cochlear implants when they are 2 to 4 years of age than when they a re older, and to determine whether 4-year performance can be predicted from 1-year results. Method: Children in two age groups (2 to 4, 4 to 9 years) were tested for performance, and the age groups were compare d. Children were also tested 1 and 4 years after implantation. Results : The results suggest that the ''implanted young'' group scored higher than the ''implanted old'' group after 36 months, and that 1-year per formance is helpful in predicting 4-year performance. Conclusion: It m ay be desirable for children to undergo implantation when they are und er 2 years of age, provided that appropriate selection criteria can be determined.