Poor spectral clarity from cochlear implants (CIs) has been hypothesized to contribute to articulation and phonological processing deficits among children with CIs. Therefore, CI programming techniques that aim to improve spectral resolution may lead to improvements in articulation and phonological processing skills (i.e., phonological awareness as well as phonological and phonetic recoding).
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
Findings are exploratory and preliminary; no actionable change to clinical practice is warranted until larger controlled studies replicate results.
If image-guided CI fitting can be shown to improve speech sound outcomes, it could expand the clinical rationale for precision electrode placement beyond hearing thresholds alone.
- 01Exploratory design examining image-guided CI intervention in children with speech sound disorders (SSDs).
- 02Targets poor spectral clarity as a hypothesized mechanism linking CI fitting to speech production.
- 03Both articulation and phonological processing were assessed as outcome domains.
- 04Published in AJSLP, bridging audiology and speech-language pathology perspectives.
- 05Preliminary findings require replication in larger, controlled trials before clinical adoption.
Image-guided cochlear implant intervention can improve articulation and phonological processing in children with speech sound disorders.
studypartially supportedPoor spectral clarity from the cochlear implant is a contributing factor to speech sound disorders in CI users.
studyunclear- PMID
- 42970454
- DOI
- 10.1044/2026_AJSLP-26-00124.
- Journal
- American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology
- Publication type
- research_article
- Evidence level
- 4
- Population
- Children with speech sound disorders who have cochlear implants
- Intervention
- Image-guided cochlear implant fitting/intervention targeting spectral clarity
Primary outcomes
Articulation accuracy; Phonological processing