Predictors of language and auditory abilities in prelingual cochlear implanted children at Sohag university hospital

Background Cochlear implantation helps to decrease the consequences of hearing impairment. There are several factors that can predict language and auditory outcomes in prelingual cochlear implanted children. These factors can be divided into: patient factors, family and environment factors, operative factors and rehabilitation factors. Objectives To study the predictors that affect the cochlear implantation outcome in prelingual hearing impaired Egyptian children.Patients and methods: The study was performed at the Phoniatrics Unit at Sohag University hospital on 141 prelingual children (85 boys and 57 girls) who had cochlear implantation. This study was a three-year cross-sectional study. Assessment of receptive, expressive language, auditory abilities performance and speech intelligibility were done using Sohag university hospital phoniatric protocol for cochlear implanted children, categories of auditory performance and speech intelligibility rating. Evaluation was done preoperative and 18 months postoperative. The predictors were assessed and correlated with receptive, expressive and auditory abilities. Results: Parent interaction at home, postoperative auditory threshold and number of sessions postoperative are the most important predictive factors of receptive, expressive and auditory scores in our research. Conclusion Family counseling as regards parent interaction and compliance at rehabilitation sessions is considered a cornerstone that guide to positive outcomes in prelingual cochlear implanted children.