Hearing Early Opens More Doors: Long-Term Effects of Age at Implantation on Metaphor Comprehension in Adolescents and Young Adults With Cochlear Implants.

Purpose: There is solid evidence that an early age at cochlear implantation, which reduces the period of auditory deprivation, positively impacts early spoken language development. However, there is an urgent need for more research to understand the long-term effects of early implantation on higher...

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Published in:Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research Vol. 68; no. 3; pp. 1105 - 1126
Main Authors: Dahlby-Skoog, Malin, Kalandadze, Tamara, Karltorp, Eva, Lyxell, Björn, Löfkvist, Ulrika
Format: Article
Published: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Mar2025
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Mar2025
      vid: 68
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      pub: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
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        10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00480
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        atl: Hearing Early Opens More Doors: Long-Term Effects of Age at Implantation on Metaphor Comprehension in Adolescents and Young Adults With Cochlear Implants.
      aug:
        au:
          Dahlby-Skoog, Malin
          Kalandadze, Tamara
          Karltorp, Eva
          Lyxell, Björn
          Löfkvist, Ulrika
        affil:
          Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
          Department of Education, ICT and Learning, Østfold University College, Halden, Norway
          Department of Ear, Nose and Throat Diseases, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
          Department of Special Needs Education, University of Oslo, Norway
          Department of Behavioural Sciences and Learning, Linnaeus Centre HEAD, Swedish Institute for Disability Research, Linköping University, Sweden
          Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden
      su:
        Sweden
        Reading
        Metaphor
        Age distribution
        Vocabulary
        Hard of hearing people
        Cognition
        Children
        Cochlear implants
        Phonological awareness
      sug:
        subj:
          Reading
          Metaphor
          Age distribution
          Vocabulary
          Hard of hearing people
          Cognition
          Children
          Sweden
          Cochlear implants
          Phonological awareness
      ab: Purpose: There is solid evidence that an early age at cochlear implantation, which reduces the period of auditory deprivation, positively impacts early spoken language development. However, there is an urgent need for more research to understand the long-term effects of early implantation on higher linguistic skills, such as metaphor comprehension. In this study, we explored metaphor comprehension in Swedish-speaking adolescents and young adults with cochlear implant (CI), compared to that of typically hearing peers, as well as its relationship with the age at first CI. Method: The participants consisted of 39 individuals who received CI before 30 months of age (M = 16.9 years, mean age at implant = 15.7 months) and a group of 27 individuals with typical hearing (M = 14.9 years). To assess metaphor comprehension, we developed a multiple-choice task that was administrated verbally. Standardized tests were used to evaluate vocabulary, reading skills, and nonverbal cognitive skills. Results: No significant differences were found in metaphor comprehension or other linguistic or cognitive skills between individuals with CI and the typically hearing peers. Further analysis indicated a moderate negative correlation between metaphor comprehension and age at implantation and other linguistic skills. Conclusions: Early-implanted children develop metaphor comprehension comparable to their typically hearing peers, with earlier age at implantation being associated with better metaphor comprehension in adolescence. However, age at implantation only partially explains the variation in metaphor comprehension abilities. Further research is needed to identify other factors that influence the development of metaphor comprehension in individuals with CI.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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