COCHLEAR IMPLANTS IN INFANTS
Universal
newborn hearing screening has provided for early identification of congenital
deafness.
This has allowed for intervention as soon as possible. The placement
of cochlear implants in deafened infants in their first year of life allows
these children to develop hearing and speech skills at nearly the same pace as
their normally hearing peers. By "turning on their hearing," profoundly
deafened children are now able to enter mainstream schools at the same age as
their hearing peers. The placement of cochlear implants in both ears now allows
for these children to hear and appreciate sound in nearly the same way as
normally hearing individuals.
