Unregistered User If this is not your name, click here.
		Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague
	Select a ChannelAcneAIDS and HIVAllergy OtherAlzheimer'sAnaesthesiology OtherAngina Pectoris/MIAnxietyArthritis OtherAsthmaBack PainBacterial InfectionsBladder CancerBone Marrow TransplantationBreast CancerCardiology OtherCataractCell TransplantationCervical CancerCholesterol/Lipid disordersCirrhosisClinical PharmacologyColorectal CancerCongestive Heart FailureContact DermatitisContraceptionCOPDCystic FibrosisDental and Oral DisordersDepressionDermatology OtherDiabetesDialysisEating DisordersElbowEmergency MedicineEndocrinology OtherEpilepsyErectile DysfunctionFibromyalgiaGastro OtherGeneticsGenitourinary OtherGeriatricsGERD/GastritisGlaucomaH. Pylori/UlcerHaematology OtherHair LossHeadachesHepa/Biliary OtherHepatitisHipHRTHypertensionIBDImmunologyInfectious OtherInfertilityIntensive CareIrritable Bowel SyndromeKneeLeukemiasLiver CancerLung CancerLupusLymphomasMelanomaMenopauseMultiple Sclerosis Nephrology OtherNeurologic OtherNutritional / Metabolic OtherOb/Gyn OtherObesityOncology OtherOphth. OtherOphthalmic SurgeryOrgan TransplantationOrthopaedics OtherOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisOtitisOtorhino. OtherOvarian CancerPaediatricsPainPancreatic CancerParkinson'sPregnancyProstate CancerPsychiatry OtherPulmonary OtherRadiologyRenal CancerRenal FailureRespiratory InfectionsRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology OtherRhinitisSchizophreniaShoulderSleep ApnoeaSleep DisordersSpineStrokeSTDsSurgeryThyroid DisordersTransfusionTransplant Surgery OtherTraumaUrinary IncontinenceUrinary tract infectionsVaccinologyVascular DisordersViral Infections

SEARCH   News Bookstore Medline The Web Meetings & Congresses Complete Doctor's Guide    EXPLORE :    All News   All Webcasts   All Cases   All Meetings & Congresses   All Medical Resources New drugs / indications English Dictionary Medical Dictionary Thesaurus Warning | Privacy | Awards  Favourite Journals  Click here to choose your favourite journals  Favourite Sites  Click here to choose your favourite sites  Languages  Select languageEnglishFrançais

Cochlear Implants Associated With Improved Voice Control Over Time in Children Who Are Deaf CHICAGO -- January 18, 2010 -- Children with cochlear implants in both ears appear to have difficulty controlling the loudness and pitch of their voices, but these measures improve over time, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. “Cochlear implants provide the perception of sound through the conversion of sound stimuli into electrical impulses, which are received by the cochlear nerve and processed by the central auditory system,” the authors wrote as background information in the article. “Although cochlear implants do not restore sound perception as experienced by an individual with normal hearing, the implant provides the user with auditory feedback in the domains of timing, intensity, and frequency of sound. These auditory feedback cues may be critical for the user to monitor his or her speech production and to make purposeful moment-to-moment adjustments in voicing.” Theresa Holler, MD, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Ontario, and colleagues assessed 27 children aged 3 to 15 years who had cochlear implants in both ears. Participating children were asked to voice the vowel “a” for 3 seconds at a comfortable pitch and volume. Three repetitions of this voice testing were averaged, analysed digitally, and compared with acoustic results of children who had an implant in 1 ear and also with norms for hearing children. Consistent with children who had an implant in 1 ear, those who had implants in both ears demonstrated poorer control over the pitch and loudness of their voice than those with normal hearing. Long-term control of pitch improved as children used their hearing aids, and therefore were exposed to hearing, for more time. “To our knowledge, this is the first study to objectively evaluate acoustic voice outcomes in children with bilateral cochlear implants and to report the influence of overall time in sound on acoustic parameters,” the authors wrote. “Targeted speech therapies that assist children using cochlear implants in monitoring and modifying the pitch and loudness of their voice would be useful in this setting,” they concluded. “Future work is planned to develop and evaluate therapeutic tools that will specifically address these areas in implant recipients, with the objective of minimising or eliminating these voice abnormalities.” SOURCE: Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version