Inner ear implants may benefit deaf infants

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Cochlear implantation, which
involves placing an electronic device into the inner ear, can
be safely done in hearing impaired children before their first
birthday and leads to age-appropriate hearing ability and oral
language skills, a report suggests.

Initial reports of children receiving cochlear implants
before 18 months of age have suggested that early implantation
is of benefit, authors Dr. Susan B. Waltzman and Dr. J. Thomas
Roland, Jr. note in their report, published in the medical
journal Pediatrics.

Surgeons considering even earlier implantation face
operative challenges such as reduced scalp and skull thickness.
However, advances in objective testing methods to assess
hearing suggest that the surgery may be feasible.

To evaluate the safety and benefits of this procedure, the
researchers, based at the New York University School of
Medicine, followed 18 children with severe to profound hearing
loss who underwent cochlear implantation at ages 6 to 11
months.

There were no immediate surgical complications, although
one patient required revision surgery 20 months later because
of scalp breakdown and persistent infection.

Marked improvements in hearing were noted a few months
after the operation and continued to accrue over time.

Five patients were tested with formalized speech perception
tests that required them to repeat words and phrases that they
heard, and they did well, with up to 100% accuracy.

Moreover, the authors add, “Preliminary reports from
therapists and teachers indicate that all children are
developing speech and language skills with a natural-sounding
voice.”

They conclude: “We can say that implantation in children
who are younger than 12 months can be performed safely and
provides early and effective access to auditory stimuli,
leading to functional benefit above what can be obtained from
conventional” hearing aids.

SOURCE: Pediatrics, October 2005.