A Dutch study confirms what we’ve observed on our own: kids with a second cochlear implant see marked improvement in quality of life measures related to speech and hearing.
A Dutch study confirms what we’ve observed on our own: kids with a second cochlear implant see marked improvement in quality of life measures related to speech and hearing.
In the current study, researchers tracked 30 children who already had one cochlear implant and were scheduled to receive a second one implanted at the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands. The researchers had parents complete general and hearing-specific questionnaires related to their kids' quality of life before the second implant was put in, and one and two years after implantation. On average, kids were five years old when they had their second procedure. Children in the study were as old as eight and a half when they got their second implant, and age didn't seem to factor into their improvement after the procedure.
On general health and quality of life issues, there were no changes in kids' scores after the second implant. On the questions related to how well the children were able to listen to speech in a noisy environment and other activities related to hearing and speaking, the children improved both one and two years after getting their second implant. A control group of children who had only one implant showed they did not experience any improvement on hearing-related quality of life measures over a one-year period.
The results are not surprising but certainly underscore what we’ve known along: kids with one cochlear implant show marked improvement in hearing and speech with a second one.