Effect of Smartphone Applications for Aural Habilitation in Cochlear Implanted Children: Improvement for Auditory Memory Skills

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aural habilitation using the smartphone applications of auditory memory skills for children with cochlear implants. Methods: Three children with cochlear implants (CIs) between the ages of 3 and 8 years participated in this study. The children attended the intervention using the smartphone applications once a week for 5 weeks. We evaluated their auditory memory skills before and after intervention, and analyzed the data using a one-group pretest and posttest design. The child's mother attended the survey for evaluating the educational effectiveness and satisfaction from the aural habilitation using the applications. Results: There were significant accuracy increases in the categorical items of auditory memory tasks. The intervention effect was not significant for auditory memory accuracy in the non-categorical items. There were individual differences in mother's perceived educational effectiveness and satisfaction with the intervention using the applications. Conclusion: The current study suggests that aural habilitation using the smartphone applications is effective and useful in improving auditory memory skills for children with CIs.