Phonological Awareness, Vocabulary, and Reading in Deaf Children With Cochlear Implants

"Age at cochlear implantation had a significant effect on vocabulary and reading outcomes.." according to a recent article in the Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research. "There is a benefit of earlier implantation."

doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2009/08-0139)

The effect of mismatch between electrode assigned frequencies and perceived pitch

A study from an Italian facility found that a "mismatch between frequencies allocated to electrodes and the pitch perceived on stimulation of the same electrodes could partially account for our subjects' difficulties with speech understanding in noisy conditions."

Bilateral and Unilateral Cochlear Implants and Speech Perception in Noise

A recent study found that bilateral cochlear implant users showed significantly better ability to understand speech in noisy environments when compared with unilateral cochlear implant users.

A similar recent study compared bimodal and bilateral cochlear implant users. The conclusion: "This research adds to the existing studies that show no significant difference between bimodal and bilateral cochlear implant users".

Second Implant Can Help Adult Localize Sound

University of Wisconsin research detects a benefit from bilateral cochlear implants.

Cochlear's Acquisition of Sieman's Hearing Aid Division

Cochlear Limited's proposed acquisition of Siemen's hearing aid division discussed here.

Surgical Approach and Postoperative Vertigo

Researchers at the University of Berlin investigated "the impact of different cochleostomy techniques on vestibular receptor integrity and vertigo after cochlear implantation." Comparing a group of 62 patients who "underwent implantation via an anterior or round window insertion approach" they concluded the "round window approach for electrode insertion should be preferred to decrease the risk of loss of vestibular function and the occurrence of vertigo."

Cochlear implant performance in senior citizens

A recent study of implanted middle aged and older adults found statistically significant improvements in sentence and single syllable word recognition. The authors conclude that "conclude that age should not be a criterion for deciding who should receive cochlear implants."