DEMOGRAPHIC AND AUDIOLOGICAL PROFILES OF DEAF-CHILDREN IN TEXAS WITH COCHLEAR IMPLANTS

This paper reports the findings of a study that examined the demograph ic, educational, and audiological characteristics of a sample of child ren in Texas who had received cochlear implants. Children who had rece ived implants and children who had not were compared. Differences betw een the two groups are discussed in the context of the criteria that h ave been published in the literature for selecting implant candidates. Results indicate that although the published selection criteria were predictive of the characteristics of the implanted sample, there was a degree of flexibility in applying the criteria to choose implant reci pients. Audiological comparisons revealed that cochlear implant recipi ents experience greater reductions in average hearing thresholds than do users of conventional aids, although these findings should be viewe d as preliminary.