Evaluation of children with cochlear implants in understanding speech in noise

Objective: To measure the listening performances of children that have cochlear implant user (CI) in noisy environments with the "Turkish Matrix Test (TMT) and evaluate their quality of life with the "Parental Perspective Questionnaire (PPQ)". Method: Acoustic immitansmetry, speech audiometry and TMT used to children using CI and have normal hearing (NH); free field behaviour test is used on children with CI to determine hearing thresholds, while pure sound audiometry test for children with NH; to evaluate the quality of life of children with CI, the PPQ was applied to their parents. Results: Out of the 28 cases using CI, 20 were boys (71.5%), 8 were girls (28.5%); in the control group, out of the 28 patients, 16 were boys (57.5%) and 12 were girls (42.5%). The mean age of 56 individuals that included in the study; for CI group was 9.57 ± 1.98 (7-14) and in the control group was 9.82 ± 2.61 (7-16). TMT was measured on both groups. In the quiet environment, the mean of the CI group was 53.4 ± 8.33 (38.1 -67.9) dB SPL, and the mean of the NH group was 26.03 ± 4.33 (19.0-34.2) dB SPL. In the noisy environment, the mean of the CI group was 3.85 ± 2.72 dB SNR, and the mean of the NH group was -5.45 ± 0.69 dB SNR. A statistically significant difference was obtained between the mean values (p <0.001). The performance of CI group was assessed according to demographic information (hearing loss diagnosis age, age of starting hearing aids, cochlear implantation age, age of starting special education). There was a statistically significant difference in the quiet environment, according to the age of hearing loss, and the age of starting special education in the noisy environment (p <0.05). There was a statistically significant difference in the quiet and noisy environment according to the age of starting heraing aids (p <0.05). The Parental Perspective Questionnaire was evaluated on 11 sub-scales (Decision making, Implant process, Implant effect, Support, Communication, Confidence, Kindness, Social relationship, Education, Clinical service). Conclusion: Children with CI were thought to be disadvantaged in communication and learning environments compared to their peers. Daily listening levels of these children can be evaluated using the TMT. It can be said that, as a result of their experience, parents have developed a positive perspective on CI. Due to the extreme stress of parents in the CI process, the CI team should inform the parents in detail at each stage of the implantation. Keywords: Turkish Matrix Test, cochlear implant, speech intelligibility, pediatrics, quality of life, Parental Perspective Questionnaire.