Efficacy of Ultrasound as Visual Biofeedback for Remediation of Speech Sound Disorders in Children with Hearing Loss

Abstract

Auditory input is an imperative system in the development of speech sound production in children. Without a proper functioning auditory system, children are at risk for developing errors in speech sound production that can persist for years. There are multiple factors that contribute to the development of speech sounds with hearing loss such as age of onset, severity of hearing loss, type of hearing loss, and age of cochlear implantation, or access to other assistive technology. Even after intervention with assistive technology children can exhibit speech sound errors. Ultrasound visual biofeedback has been shown to be useful in speech therapy for a variety of etiologies including people with a hearing loss but has been used most with adults and adolescents. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of ultrasound imaging visual biofeedback to remediate speech sound production errors in children with hearing loss, and the clinical implications.