The technological intervention has had a profound effect on her language abilities, as a long-running study into the educational benefits of early intervention for children with hearing loss has shown. Lauren is one of 450 Australian children born between 2002 and 2007 taking part in the ongoing, long-term study into the impacts of hearing loss on a person’s education, mental wellbeing and employment outcomes. She is among the 53 per cent of children in the study who had intervention for hearing loss in their first six months, while others had no intervention until up to age three. One of the lead researchers, National Acoustic Laboratories' Teresa Ching, says the long-range study has uncovered significant differences in the language abilities of children who are treated early. The study has so far tracked differences in their language abilities and published findings at ages three and five, and is next due to publish results at age nine.

HSC student Lauren Soutar. Credit:Wolter Peeters “What we’ve found with nine years is that early access to sound actually leads to better language ability ... through its influence on the cognitive development of the children,” Dr Ching said. “We know better now that early access to sounds supports development of neural connections in the brain for cognitive development, and that helps children with hearing loss to develop better language.” Children in the study are tested at each stage for their language ability, speech production and speech perception. Those who had intervention by six months scored on average 1.4 times higher than those who did so at 24 months. Dr Ching said preliminary analysis also found that children who were treated earlier in life had better psycho-social skills and mental health at age nine.

“We saw the link between language and better wellbeing,” Dr Ching said. The study will next look at the educational outcomes of participants at age 16. Lauren, who wants to study environmental science at university, said she believed she still had to work harder than her classmates to follow lessons. “I think it does affect my learning. There are a lot of times in class where I miss words and I might misunderstand a concept and it means I have to catch up and ... put in a lot of extra work, but because I’ve been profoundly deaf for so long, it’s something I’m accustomed to,” she said.

The study – Longitudinal Outcomes for Children with Hearing Impairment – is being done by the National Acoustic Laboratories, a research division within Hearing Australia. The next phase will run until 2024. It will also quantify the economic impact of permanent childhood hearing loss. National Acoustic Laboratories director Brent Edwards said it was critical for parents to be aware of the long-term study’s findings. “Children should receive regular hearing checks as they would receive their general health check-ups,” Dr Edwards said. “It’s important that parents understand that hearing health plays a vital role in a child’s mental wellbeing and development.”