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Listening and language results for infants receiving cochlear implants
What is it about?
Cochlear implants have been available for three decades, but different centres use different tests, making it challenging to amass large data sets. This study pooled results using the Categories of Auditory Performance–Revised (CAPI-R) and the Categories of Linguistic Performance (CLIP) to answer this research question; Is there any added value for an infant to go ahead with cochlear implant surgery before nine months of age or is it sufficient to wait until after nine months of age? Once medical, anaesthetic and audiological criteria are met, the data from this study supported provision of cochlear implants before nine months of age for optimum language to develop.
Why is it important?
Australian cochlear implant clinics with their strong research affiliations have been at the forefront of pediatric cochlear implant research since 1985. This large Melbourne-based study supports early access to cochlear implants before nine months of age (that is, earlier than the USA’s current Food & Drug Administration guidelines). This evidence may encourage service providers and governments in other countries to shift their cochlear implant candidacy guidelines to optimize language development for children with severe to profound bilateral hearing loss.