In this study it was aimed to evaluate language and listening skills of children who were using cochlear implants and hearing aids. Of the children who participated in the study, 18 and 7 were using cochlear implants and hearing aids, respectively. Ages of the children were between 43 to 84 months. Mean durations of implant use and hearing aid use were 27 and 39 months, respectively. All the children were attending to the same education institute, and taking verbal education. Early speech perception test (ESP) and Hacettepe phonetically balanced two and single syllable word tests were used to assess speech perception skills. Language development was assessed by using Test of Early Language Development (TELD-3) Turkish version. According to the test results no significant differences were observed between the language development performances of children using hearing aid and cochlear implant, whereas performance of children with implant was better than that of children with hearing aid with respect to open set speech perception skills. A significant correlation was observed between the language and speech perception skills, and duration of implant use and the age of starting family education. Children with a performance different from the mean in each group were discussed individually.
Keywords: Language skill, listening skill, hearing aid, children with hearing loss, cochlear implants
