Cochlear Implant Education Center

Introduction	What is a CI?	Candidacy	Performance
Decision Making	Process	Insurance	Surgery
Education	Language and Communication	References	Deaf Community
Speech Processor	Listening	Resources	Versión en Español

Introduction

Developed by Debra Berlin Nussbaum, Coordinator, Cochlear Implant Education Center, Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center

Download the PDF version.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as of December 2010, approximately 219,000 people worldwide have received implants. In the United States, roughly 42,600 adults and 28,400 children have received them. Most children who receive an implant are between 2 and 6 years old (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2011).

This resource, originally developed in 2003, is designed to assist parents and professionals in navigating their way through the extensive "forest" of information available on issues surrounding pediatric cochlear implantation. Included in the "trees" are content and links to resources about the technology, surgery, insurance, fitting the speech processor, the process of obtaining a cochlear implant and implant outcomes, and training the ear to listen as well as issues surrounding decision making, language and communication planning, and educational placement. All of the trees and the associated resources and references have been updated to reflect the changes that have emerged since the original document was developed. The most significant change observed in use of the technology itself (other than updates in the internal and external devices) relates to the increase in pediatric bilateral implantation. This trend is discussed in the section Considerations in the Cochlear Implant Process. The other significant change noted while developing this document is the extensive increase in on-line professional training resources and on-line spoken language habilitation resources available. There are links to these many resources and references throughout this document. This document also provides trees to fill in observed gaps in resources on Decision Making, Language and Communication Planning, Educational Placement, and Cochlear Implants and the Deaf Community.

So... let's move forward with navigating the dense forest of information on cochlear implants as well as a few new insights....one tree at a time.

Revised May 2012