Abstract <p>Late detection of hearing impairment has a significant negative impact on the development of a hearing-impaired child, with speech and communication skills and language acquisition being the most affected. The research results indicate inconsistency and heterogeneity of the data obtained in this population of children. The aim of the current study is to investigate the features of the auditory function and speech perception characteristics in late-identified hearing-impaired children, as well as their correlation with the level of speech and communication development of the child. The study involved 23 children aged 5–8 years with bilateral chronic sensorineural hearing loss of moderate to severe degree, who were fitted with binaural hearing aids after the age of 2.5 years (average age of first hearing aids fitting was 4.5 years). The methods included pure tone audiometry, speech audiometry, as well as an assessment of the level of speech development and communication skills. A significant decrease in speech intelligibility (words and sentences; in quiet and noise) was obtained in late-identified hearing-impaired children compared to the normative data. A significant delay in speech and communication development of late-identified hearing-impaired children compared to the normative data was revealed, as well as a significant correlations between communicative and speech characteristics and speech audiometry data. The results of the study indicate that late hearing aid fitting can cause secondary hearing impairments, including dysfunction of the central processing processing, which can develop due to prolonged auditory deprivation. The need for early intervention programs and the timely implementation of hearing screening in young and preschool children in order to identify delayed hearing loss is emphasized.</p>