Affiliations: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery,
Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana, IN, USA
Note: [] Corresponding author: Tonya R. Bergeson, Indiana University
School of Medicine, Department of Otolaryngology-HNS, 699 West Drive RR044,
Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. Tel.: +1 317 274 8466; Fax: +1 317 274 4949;
E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Purpose: Cochlear implantation has recently become available as an
intervention strategy for young children with profound hearing impairment. In
fact, infants as young as 6 months are now receiving cochlear implants (CIs),
and even younger infants are being fitted with hearing aids (HAs). Because
early audiovisual experience may be important for normal development of speech
perception, it is important to investigate the effects of a period of auditory
deprivation and amplification type on multimodal perceptual processes of
infants and children. The purpose of this study was to investigate audiovisual
perception skills in normal-hearing (NH) infants and children and deaf infants
and children with CIs and HAs of similar chronological ages. Methods: We used an Intermodal Preferential Looking Paradigm to present the same woman's
face articulating two words ("judge" and "back") in temporal synchrony on
two sides of a TV monitor, along with an auditory presentation of one of the
words. Results: The results showed that NH infants and children
spontaneously matched auditory and visual information in spoken words; deaf
infants and children with HAs did not integrate the audiovisual information;
and deaf infants and children with CIs initially did not initially integrate
the audiovisual information but gradually matched the auditory and visual
information in spoken words. Conclusions: These results suggest that a
period of auditory deprivation affects multimodal perceptual processes that may
begin to develop normally after several months of auditory experience.
