Consonant Production and Language Skills in Mandarin-Speaking Children With Cochlear Implants

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Abstract
During the past decade, cochlear implants (CIs) have been shown to be effective in facilitating the development of speech perception and production in prelingually deaf children with severe to profound sensorineural hearing impairments.1-3 Regardless of the general effectiveness of the device, the following variables may have an impact on children's speech development and language performance after implantation: age at onset of deafness, age at implantation, duration of deafness prior to implantation, duration of CI use, physiological or device-related factors (eg, the number of surviving spiral ganglion cells, electrode placement and insertion depth, electrical dynamic range, and signal processing strategies), and psychological, educational, and social factors such as a recipient's motivation and level of intelligence.4-6 Specifically, age at implantation and length of CI experience are the historic predictors associated with speech perception and spoken language development in prelingually deaf children.