Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the demographic, family, and educational differences in children’s speech perception development after cochlear (hearing) implantation. The research was conducted in Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos during the years 2013–2018. Open-set speech perception in quiet surroundings were evaluated during hearing assessments (n=81). Information about different factor groups was collected according to the Nottingham Children’s Implant Profile questionnaire. Three main factor groups were analysed: (a) demographic, (b) family, and (c) educational. A Bourdieu-based approach was adopted to analyse social inequalities of health of children with cochlear implants. Different factors were operationalized as different forms of capital. Our findings highlight the importance of family’s social and cultural capital to children speech perception after cochlear implantation.
Highlights
Relevance of the StudyThe results of cochlear implantation are widely studied both in medical and educational literature
Descriptive statistics results showed that the speech perception level differed significantly by place of residence (p=0.034)
The majority (60%) of children in the good speech perception group lived in five largest cities, whereas 47.6% of children from the poor speech perception group resided in small cities and the rural areas
Summary
The results of cochlear implantation are widely studied both in medical and educational literature. The results of study conducted in USA show that about half of children with cochlear implants exhibited standard scores of spoken language within the average range for hearing age-mates (Geers et al 2009). The number of cochlear implant users is rising in developed countries. The number of cochlear implantation surgeries almost tripled during last decade (Mataitytė-Diržienė et al 2018). Overall 377 persons were implanted in Lithuania until the end of 2017 (Mataitytė-Diržienė et al 2018). Due to the growing number of cochlear implant users, the demand of studies dedicated to analysing the outcomes of cochlear implantation is rising. According to the European Cochlear Implant User Association, there were 150 000 cochlear implant users in Europe (EURO CIU 2017)
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