Graeme Clark Collection

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    Predicting speech perception results for children using multichannel cochlear implants [Abstract]
    Dowell, Richard C. ; Dettman, Shani J. ; WILLIAMS, SARAH ; Hill, Katie ; TOMOV, ALEXANDRA ; Clark, Graeme M. ( 2002)
    It is most helpful in counselling families considering cochlear implantation to have some ability to predict outcomes for individual hearing-impaired children. Speech perception results for open-set words and sentences have been collected for all children implanted with the Nucleus device in Melbourne. Assessments are available at approximately six month intervals following implantation, Data was collected for each child regarding type of hearing loss, duration and age at onset of profound hearing loss, age at implantation, pre and post-implant communication mode, developmental delay, speech coding scheme and implant experience. These data were used as predictor variables in step-wise multiple linear regression analyses with the speech perception scores as the dependent variables. Shorter duration of profound hearing loss, later onset of profound hearing loss, exclusively oral communication mode following implantation, and longer implant experience were associated with significantly (p < 0.00 I) improved open-set speech perception. The use of the SPEAK signal coding scheme was shown to provide significantly better speech perception performance for children (p < 0.00 I). Developmental delay was associated with poorer speech perception outcomes (p < 0.0 I). Over 50% of the variance in speech perception scores was accounted for by these variables. The study suggests that younger implantation for congenitally deaf children leads to improved speech perception results. On the other hand, the development of auditory language skills in implanted children may be as important as age at implantation in enhancing long term outcomes. Regression equations derived from these results can be used to predict outcomes for cochlear implant candidates with a reasonable accuracy.
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    Results for children and adolescents using the multichannel cochlear prosthesis [Abstract]
    Dowell, Richard C. ; Clark, Graeme M. ; Dettman, Shani J. ; Dawson, Pamela W. ( 1992)
    The first adolescent to use the 22-electrode cochlear prosthesis was Implanted In Melbourne in 1985 and the first child (less than 10 years), the following year. Since then, over 100 children have received the cochlear prosthesis in Australia and over 1200 worldwide. Detailed assessment of 200 children in the U.S.A., Australia and Germany lead to the market approval of the prosthesis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July 1990. The analysis of results for these children has proven to be difficult due to the use of different tests in different places, the lack of appropriate assessment tools for young children, the wide range of performance, and the problems of cooperation for young children. Despite these problems, some trends are beginning to emerge in the speech perception results for implanted children. Children with a greater amount of auditory experience before becoming profoundly deaf tend to perform better, as do children with more experience with the cochlear prosthesis. Those with a greater number of electrodes in use also perform better, a result supported by adult studies. Although older prelinguistically deafened children do not perform as well as postlinguistically deafened adults, there appears to be little difference between results for pre-and post-linguistically deafened young children. These trends In speech perception results will be discussed in more detail.