ROCHESTER, MINN. ó Amanda Temple of Monticello, Minn., and Sinead Clements of Rochester are two of the patients who have benefited from a new generation of cochlear implant technology being offered at Mayo Clinic.
New cochlear implants are thinner ó allowing implantation in children as young as 18 months ó and have more stimulating electrodes to enable hearing. WhatÃs more, a speech processor is now available that combines multichannel technology with a processor casing that is the size of a behind-the-ear hearing aid.
New cochlear implant devices enable better sound perception and interpretation than ever before and are appropriate for individuals suffering from severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss who do not benefit adequately from hearing aids. Additionally, some patients, like Sinead, can use the new multichannel ear-level speech processor that is a more convenient and cosmetically appealing alternative to traditional body-worn processors.
"Sensorineural hearing loss occurs when small hair cells in the cochlea of the inner ear are missing or have been damaged and no longer transmit electrical impulses to the brain," says George Facer, M.D., Mayo Clinic ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeon and cochlear implant program director. "A cochlear implant performs the function of these missing hair cells."
Because of new cochlear implant technology, Amanda and Sinead have made great strides in their efforts to communicate with family, friends and the rest of the sound-oriented world.
Amanda Temple, Monticello, Minn. When Amanda Temple was only a year old, an ENT surgeon diagnosed her as having profound hearing loss and directed her family to Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic audiologists worked with the Temples for nearly a year, conducting extensive evaluation and therapy before deciding that Amanda would benefit little from traditional hearing aids and was a good candidate for cochlear implantation.
The surgical implantation was successful. The Temples had heard that young children are often frightened by their first experience with sound, so they were thrilled when AmandaÃs face lit up with joy when the implant was connected to her speech processor. "We had a lot of questions about whether we were doing the right thing or not," says Doug Temple, AmandaÃs father. "But her response answered all of those questions."
Amanda will be three-years-old this November, and her prognosis for language and speech acquisition is excellent. "They (speech and language pathologists working with Amanda) have all told us that she should be understanding language at a normal level by first grade," her mother, Jolene Temple, reports. "And weÃre hoping that maybe she will be able to start school without an interpreter."
Sinead Clements, Rochester, Minn. Sinead Clementsà parents knew she was deaf when she was just nine days old. Ever since, they have been extremely proactive in their search for the best hearing solution for their daughter. Sinead started using hearing aids by the age of six months, and she has used a variety of hearing aids, frequency transposers and the Cued Speech System throughout her 17 years. Cued Speech is a system that uses eight hand shapes and four locations around the face to make spoken language clearly visible and understandable to the deaf person. Although her parents credit Cued Speech with giving Sinead a great advantage in language acquisition, traditional hearing aids were of little use. Sinead and her parents made the decision to try cochlear implantation, and Sinead was implanted in late summer 1997.
Her progress has been remarkable. Audiologists predicted that she may start using the telephone after two years of using the implant, but Sinead surprised them by starting just six months after her implantation. Sinead has also started to listen to music for the first time and has become a connoisseur of classic rock-and-roll artists like Buddy Holly and The Archies. The 11th grader has such confidence in her communication abilities that she even participates in her high school drama program.
"In the past I was shy and I waited for people to come talk to me," Sinead says. "But since I got the implant, IÃm more outgoing and I go to them!"
Mayo Clinic started offering the latest generation of cochlear devices in 1997 while participating in clinical trials. At Mayo Clinic, a multidisciplinary team ó that includes an ENT surgeon, audiologists and other allied health staff ó work to determine the hearing needs of patients from around the world. Comprehensive services available at Mayo Clinic for the hearing impaired community include initial hearing screenings, hearing aid selection (through Mayo Clinic Hearing), cochlear implantation and follow-up services, hearing therapy, and balance testing and rehabilitation. Speech therapy is provided when necessary. ### FACT SHEET More information on the latest advances in cochlear implant and speech processor technologies. Cochlear Implants The newest generation of cochlear implant technology represents the first major advancement in cochlear implants in more than a decade. Benefits to hearing-impaired individuals include:
o The new devices are thinner allowing for implantation in children as
young as 18 months. The younger a child is implanted, the greater the
childÃs chance of acquiring language at a rate closer to his or her peers.
o They have the most stimulating electrodes available in a cochlear implant, greatly enhancing a userÃs ability to hear sound and interpret speech. "As far as communication and end results are concerned, the new implants have much more advanced technology than previous models," says Dr. Facer.
o The implants provide unparalleled word and sentence recognition even
in noisy environments.
o The first removable internal magnet allows for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the first time with a cochlear implant.
Speech Processors Ear-level speech processors also represent a major advancement in technology for the hearing impaired. Among the features of these new devices are:
o The first multichannel processor that is the size of a behind-the-ear hearing
aid.
o The ear-level device weighs less than an ounce.
o Multichannel technology, which has a pronounced advantage over single-channel devices. "For example, if you listen to music with a single-channel processor, you can get the loudness and the rhythm, but not the pitch," explains John Shallop, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic audiologist. "With a multichannel processor, you can hear the melody and even chords."
o This cosmetically appealing and technologically advanced speech processor could potentially benefit more than 200,000 adults and children with severe-to-profound deafness.
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