Unlike hearing aids, which amplify sounds to enable a person to hear, cochlear implants use a microphone and mini-computer to help convert everyday sounds into coded electrical pulses. Children who are deaf from birth have the best chance to benefit if implanted early, while the neural pathways in the brain for transmission of sound are still being established. » Read More

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will play a key role in a five-year study aimed at understanding the impact hearing loss can have on children's ability to communicate, succeed in school, and have good social and psychological development.  Results from the study will provide information on the affect of early intervention and amplification devices fitted to infants and young children with mild to severe hearing loss.

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Universal newborn hearing screenings, which are mandatory in more than 40 states, identify hearing issues immediately.  But there is a need for a reliable and practical way to estimate how improved hearing affects listening and vocalizing during the first years of life.  Researchers have come up with a new assessment tool, a game-like activity to monitor early auditory-guided speech development in infants and toddlers. » Read More

One of the more difficult tasks an audiologist has to face is fitting a hearing instrument for young children with hearing loss.  With the help of the latest findings from the field of pediatric audiology, Siemens Audiology has developed a reprogrammable hearing aid designed to adapt along with the hearing changes of the growing child. » Read More

In a recent study, John E. McClay, M.D., and colleagues at University of Texas at Southwestern Medical Center and Children's Medical Center Dallas used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect soft-tissue defects that contribute to hearing loss in children. » Read More