Reading Abilities and Visual Evoked Potentials in Hearing-Impaired Children: A Comparative Study of Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid Users

This study aimed to evaluate reading comprehension skills, visual evoked potentials (VEP), and saccadic eye movements in hearing aid (HA) users, cochlear implant (CI) users, and individuals with normal hearing (NH), to investigate the relationship between sensory processing and reading ability.

Audiologists and educators working with hearing-impaired children should be aware that device type (cochlear implant vs. hearing aid) may relate to differences in reading and visual processing development, though causality and clinical cut-offs require further study before changing rehabilitation protocols.

Understanding how cochlear implants and hearing aids differentially affect reading and cross-modal brain development in children could guide more tailored rehabilitation planning and educational support strategies.

1. 01Study compared reading comprehension, visual evoked potentials (brain responses to visual input), and eye movements between cochlear implant and hearing-aid users.
2. 02Published in Audiology & Neurotology (DOI: 10.1159/aud/abnag001).
3. 03Visual evoked potentials and saccadic eye movements (rapid eye shifts during reading) serve as objective markers of reading-related neural processing.
4. 04Comparative design allows direct between-group analysis but cannot establish which device type causes observed differences.
5. 05Findings could inform multidisciplinary support for hearing-impaired children beyond audiological fitting alone.

PMID

42497105

DOI

10.1159/aud/abnag001.

Journal

Audiology & Neurotology

Publication type

research_article

Evidence level

3

Population

Hearing-impaired children using cochlear implants or hearing aids

Intervention

Cochlear implant use

Comparator

Hearing aid use