The implications of the cochlear implant for development of language skills: a literature review

Abstract:

The auditory rehabilitation by means of cochlear implant has constituted an field of interdisciplinary activity and research, whose interests have focused on the investigation of variables and processes related to the language skills of this population. This study aimed to present a systematic review of studies that investigated the relations between the use of cochlear implant and language development. For this, was conducted a search in scientific bases Web of Science(r), Scielo(r) and LILACS(r), of 2003-2013, the studies in scope of Audiology (and related areas), Education, Rehabilitation and Behavioral Sciences; applying the terms "cochlear implant", "auditory recognition" , "recognition", "speech", "speech production" and "language". After an initial processing of the results, were selected for analysis 86 articles that were classified according to the following criteria: year of publication, journal, research area, study type, skill and investigated topic. The results indicate growing progress in these studies and an emphasis on evaluating and/or identify possible factors that interfere language processes' cochlear implant users, and that these research conducted majority by the Audiology and related areas. The comparative and explanatory studies were the most frequent and have emphasized the auditory skills, specifically the factors that affect the auditory perception. While future perspectives, can be glimpsed largest scientific involvement of interdisciplinary areas of Audiology, expansion of research on expressive skills (such as oral production) and promotion of studies investigating interventions (evidence-based practices) in language to the public.

Keywords:
Cochlear Implants; Language Development; Review Literature as Topic