Cochlear Implant Summer Listening Camp

What is a Cochlear Implant?

The cochlear implant is an important option for a child with profound deafness who does not receive significant benefit from hearing aids or other devices. A cochlear implant is an electronic device to provide auditory information by directly stimulating the surviving auditory nerve fibers in the inner ear. The cochlear implant system consists of two parts:

• an internal device which is surgically implanted into the inner ear and,
• an external component consisting of a head set and speech processor which is programmed individually to supply sound to a child.

General Criteria (for Pedriatric population)

• Profound sensorineural hearing loss (nerve deafness) in both ears
• 18 months through 17 years of age
• Little or no useful benefit from hearing or vibrotactile aids
• No medical contraindications
• High motivation and appropriate expectations by child and parents/guardians
• An educational/rehabilitation program that emphasizes development of auditory skills

Benefits

Children are able to detect environmental sounds including speech, within conversational levels
Some children can identify everyday sounds, such as car horns, doorbells and birds singing, from a set of alternatives
Many children can distinguish among different speech patterns
Many children can identify words from a set of alternatives without lipreading
Some children exhibit improved lipreading
A few children can recognize speech without lipreading
After training and experience with the device, many children demonstrate improvements in speech production and perception

Dallas Cochlear Implant Team

The DCI Program ivolves a team of specialized professionals providing comprehensive services in the area of cochlear implantation. Team members include an otoneurosurgeon, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, a research scientist and psychologist. Services are provided at the University of Texas at Dallas Callier Center as well as at the University of Texas Southwestern.

The current devices in the U.S. market are available through the Dallas Cochlear Implant Program

Support from The Crystal Charity Ball is available to qualified children and their families. For more information about the cochlear implant technology, funding available thru the Crystal Charity Ball Charity or to learn more about the DCI Team, please call: 214.905.3000