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Hearing Loss Doesn't Affect Quality of Life for Kids with Cochlear Implants
Filed under: In The News, Research Reveals: Big Kids, Research Reveals: Tweens, Research Reveals: Teens
Deaf children who have cochlear implants report the same quality of life as their hearing counterparts, and their perceived satisfaction improves with earlier implants and longer wear, new research shows.
Auditory specialists from the Dallas Cochlear Implant Program surveyed 88 families of children who had the implants -- small electronic devices planted in the inner ear and activated by an external mechanism -- and compared their responses with those of their normal-hearing peers. The researchers focused on two age groups: 8- to 11-year-olds and 12- to 16-year-olds.
Their questions dealt with quality of life factors including physical, medical and emotional health; self esteem; relationships with family and friends; and performance in school.
When confronted with the same daily pressures of normal-hearing kids, such as schoolwork, teasing and even bullying, kids with implants reported the same kinds of reactions as their peers.
Their questions dealt with quality of life factors including physical, medical and emotional health; self esteem; relationships with family and friends; and performance in school.
When confronted with the same daily pressures of normal-hearing kids, such as schoolwork, teasing and even bullying, kids with implants reported the same kinds of reactions as their peers.
"Nothing in our study indicated that they were stressed out more because they had an implant," Dr. Betty Loy, the lead author of the study tells ParentDish.
By contrast, research cited in the study shows that deaf children without implants have difficulty socializing when placed in a mainstream class. The same is not true when they attend schools for the deaf. The research shows that the younger children who had implants reported a better overall quality of life than did older children -- although Loy points out that may be because adolescents are naturally more angst-filled. The study also shows that the earlier children received their implants and the longer they wore them, the better they felt they did in school.
The survey included parents and children and shows parents were largely accurate in their assessment about how satisfied their children were, although parents of older children thought they were somewhat happier with school than they actually were.
Cochlear implants are controversial within the deaf community, and parents often struggle to determine the right course of action for their young children. Loy says she and her colleagues conducted the study to help parents see how children felt about the implants after having lived with them for an extended period of time.
Children as young as 12 months old are eligible for one type of implant, and as of April 2009, about 25,500 children had received them, according to the FDA.
Loy cautions that, while under optimal circumstances children with the devices can learn to speak as well as their hearing counterparts, cochlear implantation is "not a miracle" and requires hard work and dedication from the entire family.
Loy's study was conducted over a two-and-a-half-year period and was concluded in the spring of 2009. The results were published in the February issue of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.
Related: Cochlear Implant - Surgery For Hearing Loss: Hearing Loss A Guide To Prevention And Treatment
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