Learning from the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study: summary of 5-year findings and implications

Abstract

Objective: This article summarises findings of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study, and discusses implications of the findings for research and clinical practice. Design: A population-based study on outcomes of children with hearing loss. Evaluations were conducted at five years of age. Study sample: Participants were 470 children born with hearing loss between 2002 and 2007 in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland in Australia, and who first received amplification or cochlear implantation by three years of age. Results: The earlier hearing aids or cochlear implants were fitted, the better the speech, language and functional performance outcomes. Better speech perception was also associated with better language and higher cognitive abilities. Better psychosocial development was associated with better language and functional performance. Higher maternal education level was also associated with better outcomes. Qualitative analyses of parental perspectives revealed the multiple facets of their involvement in intervention. Conclusions: The LOCHI study has shown that early fitting of hearing devices is key to achieving better speech, language and functional performance outcomes for children with hearing loss. The findings are discussed in relation to changes in clinical practice and directions for future research.

Key Words:

• Paediatric
• hearing aid
• cochlear implant
• outcomes
• early intervention
• LOCHI study

Acknowledgements

We gratefully thank all the children, their families and their teachers for participation in the LOCHI study. We also acknowledge the assistance of the many clinicians who provided audiological management of the children, and the assistance of professionals at early intervention agencies and cochlear implant clinics in the collection of demographic and outcomes data. We thank Vicky Zhang for her assistance in the preparation of the manuscript.

Declaration of interest

None were declared.

The LOCHI project is partly supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01DC008080. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders or the National Institutes of Health.

The work was also partly supported by the Commonwealth of Australia through the Office of Hearing Services. We acknowledge the financial support of the HEARing CRC, established and supported under the Cooperative Research Centres Program of the Australian Government. We also acknowledge the support provided by the New South Wales Department of Health, Australia; Phonak Ltd; and the Oticon Foundation.