 |
|
Bilateral cochlear implants: A case when 2 are definitely superior to 1
May 30, 2008INDIANAPOLIS -- A study of cochlear implant patients seen by Indiana University School of Medicine physicians is the first research to show evidence that cochlear implants in both ears significantly improves quality of life in patients with profound hearing loss and that the cost of the second implant is offset by its benefits.
The study, which appears in the May issue of the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, found that improvements in factors that contribute to quality of life including such critical abilities as hearing in noisy environments, focusing on conversations, and speaking at an appropriate volume resulted when cochlear devices were implanted in both ears.
This study may have a significant impact for profoundly deaf individuals who hope to have their health insurance providers pay for bilateral rather than the standard single cochlear implant. The study authors found the benefits of the second implant outweighed the added cost of the second device.
"We didn't know that cognitive skills and emotional issues would so significantly improve with the implantation of a second cochlear device. In addition to the physiological improvements we saw in patients who had bilateral implants, we found that patients were able to function better in noisy environments and definitely felt better about themselves," said senior study author Richard Miyamoto, M.D., Arilla Spence DeVault Professor and chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Dr. Miyamoto is the immediate past president of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. First author of the study is Bradford G. Bichey, M.D., MPH, a former research fellow and resident at the IU School of Medicine and currently an otolaryngologist in Marion, Ind.
"Profoundly deaf individuals who were born with hearing, their families, physicians, and health insurance providers now have the data they need," said Dr. Miyamoto. "There is definite improvement after one implant and there is a significant added bump in sound and speech perception after the second implant. Emotional well being improves. And we found a favorable cost utility analysis. Our hope is that with these findings more health insurance companies will cover the cost of bilateral implants and bring a superior quality of life to a large number of individuals."
Approximately 1.4 million American are deaf in both ears and experience significant impairment in communication with the hearing world according to the study authors. The IU School of Medicine cochlear program is one of the largest in the country. IU physicians have implanted more than 1,500 cochlear devices over the past quarter century at Indiana University Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children.
Indiana University
"We didn't know that cognitive skills and emotional issues would so significantly improve with the implantation of a second cochlear device. In addition to the physiological improvements we saw in patients who had bilateral implants, we found that patients were able to function better in noisy environments and definitely felt better about themselves," said senior study author Richard Miyamoto, M.D., Arilla Spence DeVault Professor and chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
Dr. Miyamoto is the immediate past president of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. First author of the study is Bradford G. Bichey, M.D., MPH, a former research fellow and resident at the IU School of Medicine and currently an otolaryngologist in Marion, Ind.
"Profoundly deaf individuals who were born with hearing, their families, physicians, and health insurance providers now have the data they need," said Dr. Miyamoto. "There is definite improvement after one implant and there is a significant added bump in sound and speech perception after the second implant. Emotional well being improves. And we found a favorable cost utility analysis. Our hope is that with these findings more health insurance companies will cover the cost of bilateral implants and bring a superior quality of life to a large number of individuals."
Approximately 1.4 million American are deaf in both ears and experience significant impairment in communication with the hearing world according to the study authors. The IU School of Medicine cochlear program is one of the largest in the country. IU physicians have implanted more than 1,500 cochlear devices over the past quarter century at Indiana University Hospital and Riley Hospital for Children.
Indiana University
Cochlear Implant News and Current Cochlear Implant Events RSSBiophysical method may help to recover hearing
Scientists based in Switzerland and South Africa have created a biophysical methodology that may help to overcome hearing deficits, and potentially remedy even substantial hearing loss. The authors propose a method of retuning functioning regions of the ear to recognize frequencies originally associated with damaged areas. Details are published August 29th in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology.
Cochlear implant recipients experience improvement in quality of life
Cochlear implant recipients experience a significant improvement in their quality of life, and have improved speech recognition, according to new research published in the March 2008 issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.
Researcher developing new method for hearing loss assessment
A Purdue University researcher is working on a new technique to diagnose hearing loss in a way that more accurately reflects real-world situations.
Brain's 'hearing center' may reorganize after implant of cochlear device
Cochlear implants-electronic devices inserted surgically in the ear to allow deaf people to hear-may restore normal auditory pathways in the brain even after many years of deafness.
A wider range of sounds for the deaf
More than three decades ago, scientists pursued the then-radical idea of implanting tiny electronic hearing devices in the inner ear to help profoundly deaf people.
For First Time, Cochlear Implant Restores Hearing To Patient With Rare Genetic Disorder
Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have, for the first time, used a "bionic" ear to restore hearing in a patient with von Hippel-Lindau disease. They say this advance offers new hope for individuals with the rare disorder, which can produce non-malignant tumors in ears, as well as in the eyes, brain, and kidneys.
Some children are born with 'temporary deafness' and do not require cochlear implant
Clinical research conducted in the Department of Communication Disorders at the University of Haifa revealed that some children who are born deaf "recover" from their deafness and do not require surgical intervention.
Making sense of the world through a cochlear implant
Scientists at University College London and Imperial College London have shown how the brain makes sense of speech in a noisy environment, such as a pub or in a crowd. The research suggests that various regions of the brain work together to make sense of what it hears, but that when the speech is completely incomprehensible, the brain appears to give up trying.
Harnessing the brain's plasticity key to treating neurological damage
With an aging population susceptible to stroke, Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions, and military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with serious limb injuries, the need for strategies that treat complex neurological impairments has never been greater.
Low-pitch treatment alleviates ringing sound of tinnitus
For those who pumped up the volume one too many times, UC Irvine researchers may have found a treatment for the hearing damage loud music can cause.
More Cochlear Implant News Articles
 | Cochlear Implants: A Practical Guide by Huw Cooper, Louise Craddock This is a comprehensive multi-author handbook covering all aspects of cochlear implantation, fully updated since its first edition was published in 1991. All aspects of this rapidly developing field are covered, from implant design, speech processing strategies, assessment and rehabilitation of children and adults to future developments. Chapters written by implant users and their parents give... |
 | Cochlear Implants The second edition of Cochlear Implants provides a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art techniques for evaluating and selecting the cochlear implant candidate. Clear descriptions of surgical techniques guide the reader through implantation procedures, and chapters address important issues such as speech production, language development, and education in implant recipients. This... |
 | Rebuilt: My Journey Back to the Hearing World by Michael Chorost After Michael Chorost suddenly lost what was left of his hearing, he took the radical step of having a cochlear implant -- a tiny computer -- installed in his head. A technological marvel, the device not only restored to him the world of sound but also could be routinely upgraded with new software. Despite his intitial fear of the technology's potentially dehumanizing effects, Chorost's implant... |
 | Hearing Instrument Technology for the Hearing Health Care Professional by Andi Vonlanthen, Horst Arndt Hearing Instrument Technology for the Hearing Healthcare Professional is designed to provide the reader with technical information about hearing aids and related technology in a simple and approachable manner. Written by hearing aid product researchers with over 40 years of combined experience, the text successfully covers the history and contemporary developments of hearing technology without... |
 | School Professionals Working With Children With Cochlear Implants by Patricia M. Chute, Mary Ellen Nevins This new book is a comprehensive resource for school-based professionals who work with the increasing number of children with cochlear implants. Focusing on giving the reader critical background information, the well-known authors begin with the history, technology, and functionality of cochlear implants. They cover the changes seen in the populations now utilizing these devices and describe... |
 | Cochlear Implants: Fundamentals and Applications (Modern Acoustics and Signal Processing) by Graeme Clark The cochlear implant is a device that bypasses a nonfunctional inner ear and stimulates the auditory nerve directly with patterns of electrical currents derived from incoming sounds. The culmination of investigations in many disciplines, it is the first major advance in helping profoundly deaf children communicate since the Sign Language for the Deaf was developed at the Institution des Jeunes... |
| The Parents' Guide to Cochlear Implants by Patricia M. Chute, Mary Ellen Nevins | |
 | Cochlear Implants: Auditory Prostheses and Electric Hearing (Springer Handbook of Auditory Research) Cochlear implants have instigated a popular but controversial revolution in the treatment of deafness. This book discusses the physiological bases of using artificial devices to electrically stimulate the brain to interpret sounds. As the first successful device to restore neural function, the cochlear implant serves as a model for research in neuroscience and biomedical engineering. These and... |
 | Abby Gets a Cochlear Implant by Maureen Cassidy Riski This children's picture book illustrates the process of how Abby gets a cochlear implant. Abby, who wears purple hearing aids, has a progressive hearing loss and her family chooses a cochlear implant for her. The story goes on to describe hearing testing, cochlear implants and the steps a family would take to explore this option of habilitation for their child who has hearing... |
 | Hear Again: Back to Life with a Cochlear Implant by Arlene Romoff "This is a wonderful book for audiolgists, audiology students and for peopleinterested in hearing loss and cochlear implants. Ms Romoff is able to describe the issues related to not hearing and to learning to hear again. It is a wonderfully inspirational story that should be a must for every audiologist and physician working with families affected by hearing loss." --Jane R. Madell, PhD,... |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |