PROHIERAN Blog » Hearing Disability

About Cochlear Implants

Prohieran — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:31:48 +0000

More than 23,000 adults and 15,500 children have received cochlear implants, according to the Food and Drug Administration. These devices can help adults who have lost most or even all of their hearing later in life to learn to associate the signal provided by an implant with sounds they remember. The technology can provide recipients with the ability to understand speech by listening through the implant and without requiring any visual clues such as sign language or lip reading. Children are also able to acquire speech, language and social skills by receiving a cochlear implant along with intensive therapy to learn how to use it. Implanting a cochlear device earlier in a child’s development rather than later can help provide critical learning during key development periods.

The implant requires a surgical procedure and then therapy to learn or relearn the sense of hearing with the device, and not everyone will have the same level of success. While cochlear implants have been considered extremely successful, advancements in technology and continued research is yielding better ways for even greater hearing efficiency and to help with expanded kinds of hearing loss.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders is supporting research to improve the benefits provided by cochlear implants. According to their website, it may be possible to use a shortened electrode array, inserted into a portion of the cochlea, for individuals whose hearing loss is limited to higher frequencies. Other studies are currently exploring ways to make an implant convey sounds of speech more clearly. In addition, research is being conducted to determine potential benefits of pairing a cochlear implant in one ear with another cochlear implant or a hearing aid in the other ear.

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Athletes with Hearing Disabilities Set to Compete in Deaflympics

Prohieran — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:33:04 +0000

Athletes who are deaf or hard of hearing but didn’t let the disability get in the way of their love of sports are preparing to compete in the Summer Deaflympics in Taipei, Taiwan, Sept. 5-15. Events that 2009 Team USA athletes will be participating in include athletics (track and field), basketball, beach volleyball, bowling, cycling, martial arts, soccer, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. The USA Deaf Sports Federation is the only national athletic association in the United States that coordinates the participation of American deaf and hard of hearing individuals in international sports competitions. The Federation is affiliated with the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD).

All deaf and hard of hearing individuals with a hearing loss of 55dB or greater in the better ear (three frequency pure tone average at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz) are eligible. The use of hearing aids or cochlear implants are prohibited in competitions. U.S. team participants must be American citizens and members of the Federation in good standing. During the Deaflympics, deaf athletes compete against and interact with each other in sign language.

The International Olympic Committee officially recognizes ICSD as the sole organization responsible for the administration of all sporting events involving the deaf and hard of hearing. Conditions of competition in the Deaflympics are similar to those for the Olympic Games.

While the 2009 games have not yet gotten under way, plans are already in the works for the 2013 Summer Deaflympics, which will take place July 31-August 13, 2013, in Athens, Greece. These international events require tremendous effort and volunteer commitment to be successful. You can track details about the 2009 U.S. team’s success at the 2009 Summer Deaflympics from the website: http://www.usdeafsports.org.

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