Outcomes of Nasalance Scores in Children with Cochlear Implants in Ramathibodi Hospital
Abstract
Objective: The study compared the nasalance scores of Thai children with cochlear implants in Ramathibodi Hospital with normative data.
Material and Methods: From August 2021 to December 2022, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Ramathibodi Hospital. The participants were 20 children, ranging in age from 6.10 to 14.1 years, with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss who received cochlear implants and were evaluated for nasalance using the Nasometer. They were instructed to read three standard Thai passages for nasalance assessment. Descriptive statistics and a sample t-test were employed to compare the nasalance scores with normative data.
Results: A significant difference in the mean nasalance scores between the Thai children with cochlear implants and the normative data for the oral passage in all three age groups. Furthermore, only the 12.1 to 15.0 age range in the nasal passage showed a significant difference in mean nasalance scores compared to the normative data. However, the remaining age of the nasal and oro-nasal passage showed no significant differences between the mean nasalance scores compared to the normative data (p-value<0.05).
Conclusion: Children with cochlear implants may have improved nasalance scores. Their scores were still higher than those of children with normal hearing, suggesting that even after cochlear implants are fitted, speech therapy is still necessary to rehabilitate nasal resonance in children with hearing impairment.
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