Cultural adaptation and translation of PEACH scale in Telugu language: Applicability in assessing auditory and communication skills of children with cochlear implant

Purpose: The present study aimed to assess auditory and communication skills of children with cochlear implant (CI) as a function of the age at which they received CI. Methods: Group I (Early Implanted Group: EIG) consisted of children (N=18) who received CI in the age of 2 to 3 years (M=2.64). Group II (Later Implanted Group: LIG) consisted of children (N=18) who received CI in the age of 4 to 5 years (M=4.64). The study constituted three phases; 1) adaptation and translation of the PEACH scale in Telugu language, 2) administration of Telugu PEACH scale on parents to assess auditory and communication skills of children with CI, and 3) scoring the responses of parents to obtain performance score of children in quiet and noisy communication environments. Results: The results revealed no significant difference (p>0.05) in the performance between EIG and LIG in both quiet and noisy communication environments. However, the children of both EIG and LIG demonstrated significantly lower (p<0.05) performance in noisy communication environments when compared to performance in quiet communication environments. Conclusions: From the findings of the study, it can be inferred that the age at which the children received CI did not seem to be a major contributor in predicting the outcomes. Finally, the Telugu PEACH scale can be considered a clinically feasible tool in assessing the functional performance of children with CI.