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Lynn Odell
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NYU MEDICAL CENTER IMPLANTS REVOLUTIONARY COCHLEAR SYSTEM
Offers Hope to Profoundly Deaf Children and Adults
New York, N.Y., July 6, 1998 - A new generation of cochlear implant, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week, is no bigger than a hearing aid. But it is powerful enough to restore hearing sensation and promote the understanding of speech in the overwhelming majority of profoundly deaf adults and children.
NYU Medical Center/School of Medicine's Department of Otolaryngology, a leader in the field of cochlear implantation, was the first medical center in the United States to implant the new cochlear system. NYU is one of 30 hospitals in the multi-center trial that investigated the electronic device, the Nucleus 24 Cochlear Implant with the ESPrit Ear Level Speech Processor.
Noel L. Cohen, M.D., Chairman of the NYU School of Medicine's Department of Otolaryngology, the first surgeon in the U.S. to perform an implant using the Nucleus 24 system, views the device as a "significant advance that brings cochlear technology into the next century." In comparison to other implants, Dr. Cohen said, Nucleus 24 users experience higher degree of word recognition, especially in noisy environments. Because the device allows for a large number of stimulation sites along the cochlea - the delicate organ in the ear, containing the nerve endings essential for hearing - the user senses a broader range of pitch, crucial for interpreting speech.
Besides its sophisticated internal technology, Nucleus 24 represents a cosmetic advance. It is the first miniaturized cochlear device that gives users the option of a speech processor the size and shape of a traditional behind-the-ear hearing aid. Prior to this, cochlear implant patients had to wear pager-size speech processors, connected by a long, visible cord to a behind-the-ear microphone and transmitter. The new device, which weighs less that 1/2 ounce, combines speech processor circuitry and a microphone into one small unit.
To date, more than 2,000 people have been implanted with Nucleus 24 speech processors, "In a short time, nearly all our 76 clinical trial recipients have made significant progress," says Dr. Cohen. On average, adult Nucleus 24 users, after three months, obtained scores of 70 percent in recognizing speech in sentences. This is significant advance over earlier cochlear implants. Particularly encouraging, he added, is the progress of very young children - "children as young as 18 months are learning to hear and to speak." This has important consequences, Dr. Cohen says, as studies show that "the earlier children are implanted, the more apt they are to acquire speech and hearing at a rate similar to that of their hearing peers and to be able to attend regular schools."
More than 200,000 adults and children in this country are considered severe to profoundly deaf. To be eligible for the implant, a person must be at least 18 months of age; have suffered severe to profound hearing loss (adults) and profound hearing loss (children), in both ears; and have no other medical complications.
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