Abstract: Objective To investigate the related factors of speech intelligibility in the prelingually deafened children after cochlear implantation. Methods 47 prelingually deafened children who had received cochlear implantation and their families were investigated with questionnaires and analyzed with Fisher test. Results The age when cochlea implanted, the age when hearing aided, the time after the cochlear implantation and the time the cochlea opened were related with their speech intelligibility rating. Conclusion Suitable time for implantation, the hearing aid and making reasonable rehabilitation programme play a crucial role in the hearing rehabilitation of prelingually deafened children after cochlear implantation.

Key words: cochlea implant, speech intelligibility rating (SIR), hearing and communicating ability, related factors