Effect of Smartphone Applications for Aural Habilitation in Cochlear Implanted Children:
Improvement for Auditory Memory Skills

Lee, Youngmee; Lee, Seulgi

doi:2017.13.2.176

Audiology and Speech Research > Volume 13(2); 2017 > Article

Research Paper

Audiology and Speech Research 2017;13(2): 176-188.
Published online: April 30, 2017.
doi: http://doi.org/10.21848/asr.2017.13.2.176

스마트폰 어플리케이션을 이용한 중재가 인공와우 아동의 청각기억에 미치는 영향

이영미¹, 이슬기^2,3

¹동명대학교 언어치료학과
²우송대학교 보건복지대학원 언어청각재활학과
³동아와우청각언어센터

Effect of Smartphone Applications for Aural Habilitation in Cochlear Implanted Children: Improvement for Auditory Memory Skills

Youngmee Lee¹, Seulgi Lee^2,3

¹Department of Communication Disorders, Tongmyong University, Busan, Korea
²Department of Speech-Language Therapy & Aural Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Health and Welfare, Woosong University, Daejeon, Korea
³Donga Auditory Habilitation Center, Busan, Korea

Correspondence

Youngmee Lee ,Tel: +82-51-629-2135, Fax: +82-51-629-2019, Email: ymlee3060@gmail.com

Received: March 15, 2017; Revised: March 15, 2017 Accepted: April 2, 2017. Published online: April 30, 2017.

ABSTRACT

Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of aural habilitation using the smartphone applications of auditory memory skills for children with cochlear implants.
Method:
Three children with cochlear implants (CIs) between the ages of 3 and 8 years participated in this study. The children attended the intervention using the smartphone applications once a week for 5 weeks. We evaluated their auditory memory skills before and after intervention, and analyzed the data using a one-group pretest and posttest design. The child’s mother attended the survey for evaluating the educational effectiveness and satisfaction from the aural habilitation using the applications.
Results:
There were significant accuracy increases in the categorical items of auditory memory tasks. The intervention effect was not significant for auditory memory accuracy in the non-categorical items. There were individual differences in mother’s perceived educational effectiveness and satisfaction with the intervention using the applications.
Conclusion:
The current study suggests that aural habilitation using the smartphone applications is effective and useful in improving auditory memory skills for children with CIs.

Key Words: Aural habilitation, Smartphone application, Auditory memory, Cochlear implants, Children.