Biomedical subjects

Hui-Mei Yang

Publications and source records attributed to Hui-Mei Yang.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Effect of age at cochlear implantation on open-set word recognition in Mandarin speaking deaf children.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether age at cochlear implantation influences open-set speech perception in children after long-term use of the implant device. METHOD: Twenty-eight congenitally deafened children, receiving implants of Nucleus CI24M devices, were divided into two groups: (1) CI < 3: those who received implants before 3 years of age and (2) CI > 3: those who received implants after 3 years of age. We compared open-set speech perception in CI < 3 and CI > 3 after 4-5 years of device use. Speech perception tests were conducted using the Mandarin Lexical Neighborhood Test (M-LNT). Unpaired t-test was applied for statistical analysis, and p < 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: In CI < 3, the average of percent correct was 80.0 +/- 8.8 and 70.5 +/- 9.2% on, respectively, the easy and hard versions of the M-LNT. By contrast, in CI > 3, the average percent correct was 62.5 +/- 19.9 and 59.1 +/- 15.2%, respectively. Regardless of the M-LNT version used, CI < 3 performed significantly better than CI > 3 (easy, p = 0.005 versus hard, p = 0.022). CONCLUSION: The present investigation demonstrated that age at implantation influences open-set speech perception of cochlear implanted children 4-5 years after device connection. Implantation before 3 years of age promotes the development of open-set speech perception abilities in congenitally deafened children.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2005

Physical abuse against pregnant aborigines in Taiwan: prevalence and risk factors.

The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of, and to investigate the risk factors for physical abuse against pregnant aborigines in Taiwan. A cross-sectional survey was conducted. Aboriginal women who had just given birth in hospitals were recruited from January to December 2003. The women were interviewed with a structured questionnaire about the physical abuse and substance use experiences. Participants were 1143 aboriginal women who had just given birth in hospitals. About 175/1143 of the women (15.3%) had ever experienced physical abuse from a husband or intimate partner, and 79/1143 of the women (6.9%) had experienced it during their recent pregnancy. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the women who were more likely to have been physically abused during their pregnancy were: had fewer years of education, husbands who were unemployed, with a patriarchal family situation and had alcohol, cigarette and non-prescription drug use. Based on these results, we suggest that health care professionals provide adequate support and health education, develop interventions, and use referrals in concert with routine prenatal care in order to reduce and prevent the physical abuse of aboriginal women in Taiwan.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2005

Speech intelligibility of Mandarin-speaking deaf children with cochlear implants.

OBJECTIVE: Speech intelligibility, the extent to which the speakers can be understood verbally by their listeners, is an evaluator for the effectiveness of cochlear implantation. Thus, our goals were to evaluate the result of a tonal language through comparing the speech intelligibility between normal-hearing and implanted children who speak Mandarin, and to evaluate the relationship between speech intelligibility and duration of implants use. The effects of the age at implantation were also evaluated. METHODS: Twenty-six children (mean age of 5.9 years), who were congenitally deaf and implanted age at 3.5 years, were compared with 26 normal-hearing children (mean age of 5.84 years). The average post-implanted time was more than 6 months. Speech intelligibility was represented with the speech intelligibility ratings (SIR) and the correct percentage of dictation. The relationships between speech intelligibility, age at implantation and duration of implant were evaluated by linear regression analysis. RESULTS: Speech intelligibility of most subjects ranked from SIR category 3-5. The average correct perception rate (CI group/normal group) of words, consonants, vowels, and tones were 42.5%, 64.9%, 73.5%, and 72.3%, respectively. These differences were statistically significant (p<0.001). Speech intelligibility was positively correlated with age only in the normal-hearing group. Speech intelligibility in the implanted group was negatively correlated with age at implantation but positively correlated with the duration of implant. CONCLUSIONS: Speech intelligibility of tonal language was poorer in implanted children than normal-hearing children, but their communication outcomes were satisfactory when measured with SIR. Speech intelligibility is better if the age at implantation is younger or duration of implants use is longer.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2004

The auditory performance in children using cochlear implants: effects of mental function.

OBJECTIVE: Mental function is considered to affect the post-operative outcomes of deaf children with cochlear implants. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of mental function on the auditory performance in children with cochlear implants. METHODS: In a retrospective review of data, 26 pre-lingual deafened children received pre-operative evaluation of mental function and were divided into normal and retarded groups. Categories of auditory performance scale (CAP) was conducted at 1-year intervals after implantation. ANCOVA was used for statistic analysis. RESULTS: The average scores of auditory performance in normal group (n=14) were 3.93 (S.D. 1.07) and 5.86 (S.D. 0.95) at 1- and 2-year post-implantation. While the average scores in the retarded group were 2.5 (S.D. 1.51) and 4.17 (S.D. 1.85), both groups demonstrated obvious improvement in speech perception (F 103.12, P<0.001) during the first 2 post-operative years. The auditory performance in the normal group was significantly superior to the retarded group (F 8.67, P<0.01). However, the interaction between the duration of the device use and mental status showed no significant difference in the auditory perception performance (F 1.575, P=0.222). CONCLUSIONS: The results revealed the mental function plays as one of the predictive parameters of auditory performance in profoundly hearing impaired children after cochlear implantation.

Child↗