Evaluation of the articulatory characteristics of voice in cochlear implanted children

Year 2017, Volume: 7 Issue: 3, 131 - 138, 28.11.2017

Gökçe Aksoy Abdullah Dalgıç , Tolga Kandoğan Levent Olgun

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the effect of cochlear implantation on articulation by using voice- onset time (VOT).




Methods: At
the first phase of this study, a total of 25 children without hearing
loss were examined. VOT values of Turkish plosive consonants of /p/,
/b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/ specific to this age group were estimated, and
their standardization was achieved. To this end, Kay Elemetrics CSL 4400
software (Key Elemetrics Ltd, Lincoln Park, NJ, USA) was used.
Referencing these VOT values, 40 children ages ranging between 4 and 11
years who underwent cochlear implantation in our clinic were divided
into six groups based on the duration of cochlear implantation, and VOT
values were determined in these groups. These groups were compared
within themselves, and with healthy children.




Results: VOT
values of consonants increased as the duration of cochlear implantation
increased and approached to those of the children with normal hearing,
and at the end of four years of cochlear implant use, they caught up
with those of the normal hearing group.




Conclusion: Our
results have shown that early stage implantation, and use of implant for
an adequate time period have a favorable impact on articulation in
other words on comprehensibility of speech. We thought that VOT can be
use in the evaluation of the effect of cochlear implant on the
development of speech.

Keywords

Articulation, cochlear implantation

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