An Analytical Study on Communication Abilities and Schooling in Children with Cochlear Implantation
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Date
2020-07
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Research Organization for Life & Health Sciences (IROLHS)
Abstract
Background: As per the World Health Organization 2018, the new estimate of disabling of hearing loss is 466 million people.The State Initiative on Disabilities Survey (2015), Kerala, India, indicates that 2.32% of populations in Kerala, India, are affectedby some form of disabilities. Among them, 60,925 are hearing disabled based on the definition of hearing impairment in thePersons with Disabilities Act 1995. A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted electronic device that provides a sense ofsound to a person with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears.Need for the Study: Even though the Sruthitharangam scheme was started by the Government of Kerala, India, in 2012, no studywas carried out to estimate the outcomes in terms of usage of CI, education placement, and mode of communication after CI surgery.Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate the usage of CI, communication abilities, and schooling in CIchildren who have undergone surgery under Kerala Government free CI program. The current study was to report the usageof cochlear implantation, the education status, and mode of communication of the children who had undergone, free of cost CIsurgery from June 2012 to December 2015 in Kerala, India.Materials and Methods: The demographical data were collected from the register maintained at Government Medical College,Kozhikode, Kerala, India. The study was a cross-sectional study and the data were collected through the telephonic interview of 114parents or caregivers among 132 parents who had undergone free CI surgery from June 2012 to December 2015 at GovernmentMedical College Kozhikode. Eighteen parents or caregivers could not be contacted due to unavailability or change of contact numberand data collection was possible only for 114 parents among the 132 parents. All the children had attended a minimum of 2 years ofpost-implantation Auditory-Verbal Habilitation (AVH) from Sruthitharangam empanelled centers. Each subject was asked questionsto understand the current usage of the device, the mode of communication, type of schooling, and associated issues that affect theprognosis of CI is also considered. The obtained responses were scored accordingly and tabulated for further statistical analysis.Observations and Results: The result reveals that among the 114 CI recipients, 93.8% (107 recipients) were using CI and 6.14%(seven recipients) were non-users. These data found that all children were enrolled in school and attending in variety of educationalsettings. In that, 82.45% (94 children) were attending mainstream education and 17.54% (20 children) were going to specialschools. On further analysis of the communication, abilities showed that the majority of the children (75.43%) communicated orally,21.05% of them communicated through total communication and 3.5% of them used sign language.Conclusions: Kerala government Sruthitharangam CI program aid the majority of the children with severe to profoundsensorineural hearing loss in acquiring oral communication skills and also benefiting integration in normal schools. Steps shouldbe taken to reduce the number of non- users and also plan new strategies for better normal school integration for CI childrenunder the government scheme
Description
Keywords
Cochlear implant usage, Cochlear implantation, Communication abilities, Educational status
Citation
Pootheri Sameer, Parambil Ardra Kaithayulla, Patani Naisi Baby. An Analytical Study on Communication Abilities and Schooling in Children with Cochlear Implantation. International Journal of Scientific Study. 2020 Jul; 8(4): 132-135