Audibility and oral language development in children with hearing loss

Abstract

Introduction: Audibility, measured by SII, has been shown to be a necessary condition for language development, since it allows access to the linguistic input. Likewise, vocabulary development has been shown to be a good indicator of language development. Objective: To investigate the audiological characteristics and the development of oral language characteristics in hearing impaired children who are hearing aid users. Methods: Sixty-five children aged 6 to 17 years old, hearing aid users, and based in the state of São Paulo, were evaluated for their receptive vocabulary performance (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – 4) and their relation to audibility (SII 65). Results: Audibility for speech sounds assessed by the SII values revealed that 9% of the subjects had SII scores lower than 37, 47% had SII scores between 38 and 57, and 43% scored greater than 58. The overall mean of the standard score values in the receptive vocabulary test was 51.8. When relating audibility (SII 65) with vocabulary, the linear tendency of (i) the increase vocabulary performance with (ii) the increase of audibility was not significant. Conclusions: The characteristics and heterogeneity of the studied population sample seemed to represent different conditions of the subjects attended in an auditory health service in Brazil. Within the population analyzed, audibility did not determine vocabulary performance, being a critical but not sufficient factor to ensure adequate vocabulary development and growth.