Speech perception of young children using nucleus 22-channel or CLARION (R) cochlear implants

This study compares the auditory perceptual skill development of 23 congeni tally deaf children who received the Nucleus 22 channel cochlear implant wi th the SPEAK speech coding strategy, and 20 children who received the CLARI ON(R) Multi-Strategy(TM) Cochlear Implant with the Continuous Interleaved S ampler (CIS) speech coding strategy. All were under 5 years old at implanta tion. Preimplantation, there were no significant differences between the gr oup in age, length of hearing aid use, or communication mode. Auditory skil ls were assessed at 6 months and 12 months after implantation. Postimplanta tion, the mean scores on all speech perception tests were higher for the Cl arion group. These differences were statistically significant for the patte rn perception and monosyllable subtests of the Early Speech Perception batt ery at 6 months, and for thr Glendonald Auditory Screening Procedure at 12 months. Multiple regression analysis revealed that device type accounted fo r the greatest variance in performance after 12 months of implant use. We c onclude that children using the CIS strategy implemented in the Clarion imp lant may develop better auditory perceptual skills during the first year po stimplantation than children using the SPEAK strategy with the Nucleus devi ce.