Cochlear Implants in Children and Adolescents

Bilateral cochlear implantation in children: A systematic review and best‐evidence synthesis

“…Over the last few years, the number of studies suggesting the effect of bilateral cochlear implantation in children has rapidly increased. This has resulted in a growing belief in the additional benefit of the second cochlear implant in the treatment of children with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss, as recently expressed by Hodges and Balkany . Therefore, in numerous countries, bilateral cochlear implantation has become the standard of practice for the treatment of children with bilateral severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss.…”

Barriers to early cochlear implantation

“…In the USA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not presently approve CI surgery under 12 months. Other countries, although not bound by, tend to follow the lead of the FDA, hence CI surgery is simply not available for many children under 12 months of age (Hodges & Balkany, 2012).…”

Cochlear Implants in Children and Adolescents

“…In their Editorial "Cochlear Implants in Children and Adolescents" in the January issue of the Archives, 3 Hodges and Balkany share their opinion on bilateral implantation and advocate its use regardless of socioeconomic circumstances. In a recent systematic review, we, however, have shown that the second implant comes at a high cost.…”