This article discusses findings from the first 10 years of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) Study, which includes more than 450 deaf and hard of hearing Australian children whose hearing losses were identified variously through newborn hearing screening or later paths to confirmation and intervention.

Cochlear implants (CIs) have revolutionized the field of audiology, providing a life-changing solution for children with bilateral profound hearing loss. Expanding criteria has allowed children with significant unilateral hearing loss (UHL) to benefit from this technology as well. The practice is not without controversy, however. While we have…

Ample research exists that discusses the use of auditory rehabilitation with individuals who utilize hearing aids; however, there is little qualitative evidence to support its use with individuals who utilize cochlear implants. This study utilized a qualitative methodology to examine the phenomenon recipients of cochlear implants and their spouses…

Understanding the needs of parents with children with hearing loss (HL) is necessary to best support both the children and their families beyond what they have received in early intervention programs. The objective of this paper is to present the perspective of parents regarding their participation in a group intervention with their child and the…

This case study analyzes and describes the language, executive function, and psychosocial outcomes of two 6-year-old children with cochlear implants in the context of their respective family environments. Despite having nearly identical audiological histories, their language abilities and social skills are markedly different from one another,…

People with hearing loss (HL) often express a desire for the particular hearing device that will yield the best speech recognition. The problem with fulfilling that desire is that a vast number of hearing devices are available from which to choose. In recent years, medical device regulatory agencies have generally viewed hearing devices (i.e.,…

As children are receiving cochlear implants at younger ages, benchmarks in speech, language, and auditory development can assist auditory-verbal therapists in setting expectation levels. Therapists can then counsel parents who often inquire how their children are progressing compared to peers with the same amount of listening experience. This…

Sound levels and acoustic characteristic information was obtained in classrooms serving children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) in grades K-2 in a variety of settings across the United States and Canada. Sound levels were easily measured using iPads, and acoustic characteristics were documented. Noise levels exceeded the American National…

In 1993, the first study of outcomes of auditory-verbal graduates was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Audiology (JAAA). The stated purpose of the research at that time "was to document the status of graduates of one aural habilitation option; auditory-verbal" (p. 190, Goldberg & Flexer). A follow-up study was…

A study involving 32 adult persons who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) and successful in their jobs explored the key factors for their success. The results revealed that, in particular, social and personal competencies (soft skills) are important. These soft skills include self-confidence, patience, interest, motivation, ability to communicate,…

With the advent of newborn hearing screening and state-specific early hearing detection and intervention programs, early diagnosis of children with hearing loss should increase. These children need access to rehabilitation support, hearing amplification and speech therapy, and, if appropriate, evaluation for candidacy for a cochlear implant.…

Purpose: To document the emergence of utterance length measured in both words and morphemes in children with severe and/or profound hearing loss who received cochlear implants by age 3. Method: A set of 49 conversational speech samples were evoked from 10 children (8 females, 2 males) with cochlear implants and transcribed and analyzed using SALT…

Reading comprehension and three aspects of working memory--general, visuospatial and phonological--was assessed in 41 children with hearing loss: 23 with cochlear implants and 18 with hearing aids. Performance on these tests was compared between the two groups of children with hearing loss and also related to that of 55 children with typical…

The objective of this study was to investigate the perceptual relevance of acoustic differences in vowels produced by 6 children between the ages of 9-13 years old with unilateral cochlear implants. Formant frequencies were estimated for 12 repetitions of vowels /hid/, /hed/, /haed/, /hud/, /hUd/, and /hAd/ produced by the children. The estimated…

This study examined articulatory error patterns and phonological process use in 25 preschool children with hearing loss enrolled in three Canadian auditory-verbal intervention programs, and compared their performance to a control group of 35 children with typical hearing based on the GFTA-2 and the KLPA-2. Significant differences were found in the…