Can someone with a hearing loss from birth or a young age have a successful cochlear implant?
If the person has not used hearing aids and has not developed good speech and language, then in most cases the higher auditory centres of the brain will not have developed normally. So even if the cochlear implant stimulates the hearing nerve successfully, the brain may not be able to make good use of this incoming information. Generally, such people would not get a good outcome. However, if the person has been able to access some hearing and developed reasonably good (although reduced) speech and language, there may be a benefit from a cochlear implant. The amount of benefit will still be limited compared to someone who had normal hearing and went deaf in later life. It is highly unlikely that language will improve, and improvements in speech will be very small. Usually it is possible to hear important things better (children s cries or speaking, warning sounds etc) and in some instances may be able to obtain some better understanding when using lip-reading as well. It is unlikely tha
