Performance of 2- and 3-year-old children and prediction of 4-year from 1-year performance.

Objective: To examine whether children perform better when they receive cochlear implants when they are 2 to 4 years of age than when they are older, and to determine whether 4-year performance can be predicted from 1-year results.
Method: Children in two age groups (2 to 4, 4 to 9 years) were tested for performance, and the age groups were compared. Children were also tested 1 and 4 years after implantation.
Results: The results suggest that the "implanted young" group scored higher than the "implanted old" group after 36 months, and that 1-year performance is helpful in predicting 4-year performance.
Conclusion: It may be desirable for children to undergo implantation when they are under 2 years of age, provided that appropriate selection criteria can be determined.