Early Bimodal Stimulation Benefits Language Acquisition for Children With Cochlear Implants.

ABSTRACT:

Hypothesis

Adding a low-frequency acoustic signal to the cochlear implant (CI) signal (i.e., bimodal stimulation) for a period of time early in life improves language acquisition.

Background

Children must acquire sensitivity to the phonemic units of language to develop most language-related skills, including expressive vocabulary, working memory, and reading. Acquiring sensitivity to phonemic structure depends largely on having refined spectral (frequency) representations available in the signal, which does not happen with CIs alone. Combining the low-frequency acoustic signal available through hearing aids with the CI signal can enhance signal quality. A period with this bimodal stimulation has been shown to improve language skills in very young children. This study examine

SUBMITTER: Moberly AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4675676 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature