Children who receive cochlear implants can progress for several years afterward, a longitudinal research project by Penn State University shows. In a milestone multi-year study, the researchers found students’ peer relationships were impacted by teacher and peer acceptance within a school.
Positive Long-Term Outcomes of Cochlear Implantation
“We didn’t actually know how implanted children would do as young adults in mainstream schools,” a lead researcher, Daniela Martin, said. “The message in [our] years of research … is that the children are doing very well overall.”
Better Acoustic Coding
Cochlear implants aren’t without limits, however. Researchers at Germany’s Technische Universitaete Muenchen (TUM) are working to improve acoustic coding for cochlear implants to give sharper hearing to children and adults:
Read: Overcoming The Limits Of Cochlear Implants
Smarter Digital Hearing
Binaural (two-ear) hearing is the most natural context for humans, but cochlear implant technology is becoming smarter all the time:
Read: Plenty to sing about as hearing gets easier
Research models of the human auditory system are built – but the future is very bright for CI wearers as research insights combine with better acoustic technology and new sound-scanning abilities in the latest cochlear implants.
Ear implant’s microchip will scan environment for sound
Best of all, the Smart Sound IQ sound-management system in the latest device by Cochlear Inc, intelligently manages environmental sounds, cutting the need for CI wearers to physically alter settings on the remote assistant.
More Reading
- Early Implants Best For Baby’s Language Progress
- ‘Buddy Ears’ App Improves Childrens’ Implant Listening
- Cochlear Implants Misconstrued In The Economist
- What Is The ‘Deaf Debate’ With Cochlear Implants?
- Seeing And Hearing Words – With Cochlear Implants
- A Sound Case For Bilateral Cochlear Implants
- Music May Unlock Speech Perception In Implants
