Sensorimotor interaction in deaf children. Relationship between gait performance and hearing input during childhood assessed in pre-lingual cochlear implant users

Conclusions: The results suggest that auditory input is not neutral in motor skills and the complex interaction between them is generated in the earlier stages of childhood development. Objective The assessment of gait performance in pre-lingual deaf children with cochlear implant (CI). Methods: Gait velocity (GV), using a 10-meter test, was measured by means of three inertial sensors in 10 pre-lingual cochlear implant users (CIU) (10-16 years old) in three sensory conditions: (1) cochlear implant turned on with environmental noise (EN), (2) cochlear implant turned on with EN and with cognitive dual task (DT), and (3) CI turned off (CI-OFF). GV with EN and DT was assessed in a normal hearing control group (CG) (n=14). Mann-Whitney and Wilcoxon Signed ranked test were used for significance validation. Results: (1) GV in CG was lower in DT than with EN (p=.019). (2) GV was faster in CG with EN compared with the three conditions in CIU (EN, p=.006; DT, p=.0001; CI-OFF, p=.03). (3) CIU had slower GV walking with EN (p=.037) and with DT (p=.022). (4) Dividing the CIU sample by age, the acoustic information generates a slower gait for those implanted after 3 years old.