Cochlear Implant Program

Cochlear implantation has become a standard rehabilitative approach for profoundly deaf patients who do not benefit significantly from hearing aids. The earlier a child is identified with hearing loss, the better hearing and speech potential that child will have. Cochlear implants are able to be placed in children as young as 12 months of age.

Important points about cochlear implant surgery:

• Cochlear implants are not hearing aids.
• Appropriate candidates have profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and do not benefit from conventional amplification.
• Surgical and postoperative complications have been minimal.
• Implants increase auditory abilities and as a result substantially improve speech production skills.
• Postlingually deafened children demonstrate the fastest and greatest development of auditory skills as a group, and congenital and prelingually deafened children show substantial benefit from a cochlear implant.

The Children's Hospital experience 1995-present:

• Over 300 children have received cochlear implants.
• The vast majority of these children are enrolled in regular education classrooms with little or no support services; most are completely conversational; many have normal or above average age level language skills and rank in the top of their class; and most children can even talk on the telephone.

Learn more about our Hearing and Speech Center