Are cochlear implants suitable for children?
A child who is so deaf that he/she cannot benefit from the most powerful hearing aids is deprived of hearing the everyday sounds that we take for granted – the conversation of their family. Without hearing others speak it is almost impossible for a child to develop spoken language, thus presenting significant difficulties in educational attainment, employment prospects and quality of life. A cochlear implant can give these children renewed hope for the future by providing useful hearing with access to environmental sounds and spoken language. With appropriate post cochlear implant care and support, these children have the opportunity to develop intelligible spoken language themselves with all that this offers for their futures. Over 1000 children are born deaf each year in the UK and they are now identified very early by the national neonatal hearing screening programme. There are in addition children who suffer progressive hearing loss or acquired deafness, following meningitis or res
