With bilateral cochlear implants (both ears) in Ireland’s news recently, here’s some information that may answer readers’ and families’ questions. Read: Who is a cochlear implant candidate? Some unilateral (single-ear) implant-wearers keep a hearing-aid in the other ear, and can recognise speech by listening through two ears. Others choose to ‘go bilateral’ with 2 cochlear
As Ireland’s newborn hearing tests roll out nationally, India has initiatives that show how low-cost services are viable, even if resources are limited. Newborn hearing testing is rolling out in India, where the initiative in the city of Kochi received national attention. Since 2003, over 62,000 babies have been tested in 34 hospitals, with 92
Children with hearing-devices, who need to listen in noisy classrooms, were seen to benefit from a three week, intensive active-listening programme to train their brains to filter out background noise as they learned in class. Read: Auditory Training Benefits Children With Hearing Issues Persistent background noise in classrooms means hearing-device wearers can miss entire chunks
Chicago-based ENT surgeon, Dana Suskind, who oversees pediatric cochlear implants, is researching a thirty-million-word gap she sees among implanted children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. By age 3, these children hear 30 million fewer words than peers from more affluent backgrounds. With babies known to hear in the womb before birth, Suskind has a point. Read
Some families turn a child’s hearing issues into a chance to find and learn language in all situations and environments, according to blogger mum, Kristen Johnson (“No Small Thing“), whose third child has hearing issues. Read SpeechBuddy: How To Help A Child With Hearing Loss Kristen’s top tips for parent-child communication at home: Turn off appliances
Newborn hearing testing in Ireland is progressing well, with potential impact on the lives of children eligible for unilateral or bilateral cochlear implants, the Medical Independent reports – but the system has follow-up ‘shortfalls’. Read: The Sound of Silence Early detection of hearing issues is essential for children to benefit from the cochlear implant programme, the MI quotes
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