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Cochlear Implant Program

 Cochlear Implant Program
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 Otolaryngology and Communication Enhancement
 Center for Communication Enhancement
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Flower Outcomes and Potential Benefit
What factors might favor or limit my child's benefit from a cochlear implant?
Most children who are implanted receive some degree of benefit. Goals and expectations for the outcome of cochlear implantation vary for different children, and are reviewed thoroughly with the family before the surgery. Factors which favor a beneficial outcome from a cochlear implant are:

  • favorable cochlear anatomy;
  • surgery at a young age;
  • a solid base of language development prior to surgery (age-appropriate);
  • a high level of motivation and commitment on the part of the family to keep frequent appointments, maintain the device, and encourage listening skills;
  • an appropriate educational program which incorporates listening activities into the curriculum;
  • regular speech/language therapy given by a clinician with specific expertise and experience in the area of spoken language development in deaf children using cochlear implants.
The benefit from a cochlear implant may be limited by a child's previous language deprivation or by a particular child's disorder in language acquisition skills. The anatomy of the child's ear and auditory nerve also may limit sound reception and clarity with an implant. Illnesses such as meningitis may also limit outcomes.
At what age should a child receive a cochlear implant?
The Food and Drug Administration allows cochlear implants for children beginning at age 12 months. A congenitally deaf child who is going to have a cochlear implant should have the surgery before the age of four years, or earlier if possible. This early implantation gives the child the best chance to learn to use sound while language skills are developing.

Some congenitally or prelinguistically deaf children who receive cochlear implants when they are older do not develop the ability to recognize speech with the implant, and ultimately may reject its use. However, a school-age deaf child who makes maximal use of hearing aids and who already uses spoken language may benefit from a cochlear implant.

Children who once had normal hearing or partial hearing, and then became deaf, may be implanted as soon as it is clear that the child?s hearing is not going to recover and that there is little or no benefit from a hearing aid. A period of observation and training may be advisable after a seemingly total loss of hearing, to observe any recovery and to determine whether a hearing aid will help before the final decision is made to have an implant. Older children and teenagers who lose their hearing should participate in the decision whether to have a cochlear implant.

Why can Children?s Hospital Boston help a child to achieve the best possible outcome with a cochlear implant?
Expertise, experience, and caring. Children?s Hospital Boston offers the largest, most comprehensive pediatric cochlear implant program in New England. The medical and surgical care ranks among the top pediatric hospitals in the nation. The Cochlear Implant Team members all have a wealth of experience in helping children who are deaf or hard of hearing who use a variety of communication methods and technologies. This broader view helps the team and the family to care for the whole child, not just for the ears.
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