Acoustic Voice Analysis of Prelingually Deaf Adults Before and After Cochlear Implantation

Nasalance and nasality in children with cochlear implants and children with hearing aids

“…Above, all children are enrolled in intensive rehabilitation programs in which speech therapy is an important aspect. Above, also in prelingually deaf adults who are implanted during adulthood (early deafened late implanted) a change in nasalance toward the norm is demonstrated [28]. To investigate correlation between age at implantation and nasalance, a major group of CI children and adults with different ages of implantation is required.…”

Voice Analysis of Postlingually Deaf Adults Pre- and Postcochlear Implantation

“…4e7 It has been reported that the speech of prelingually deaf individuals shows changes that are more marked than those found in the postlingually deafened. 3,8 Prelingually deaf people had no auditory experience to favor the development of adequate speech production, whereas the postlingually deaf were exposed to some hearing experience and underwent maturation of neuromuscular phonation control, which includes control of the muscles involved in voicing. 9 When these patients acquire a hearing impairment at some point in life, however, they can develop vocal changes because of the lack of monitoring provided by auditory feedback.…”

The effect of cochlear implantation and post-operative rehabilitation on acoustic voice analysis in post-lingual hearing impaired adults

“…These changes have also been documented to be more severe with longer durations of hearing loss [3,21].…”

“…From an early age, individuals with normal hearing use a process known as the "auditory feedback," which allows for constant monitoring and modiWcation of one's own voice and speech quality as they hear themselves and others [2]. Unlike the pre-lingual deaf adults for whom hearing is an unfamiliar experience for the purposes of communication, post-lingual deafened adult subjects have used both hearing and speech as primary means of communication during a certain period of their lives [3].…”

“…However, since the introduction of cochlear implantation in the management of hearing impairment, post-lingual deafened individuals have reported signiWcant improvements in their communicative abilities including voice and speech abnormalities [3].…”