TECH Talk – Dr. Wolfe - Age of implantation and critical development window

May 28, 2020

Dr. Jace Wolfe, clinical audiologist and Director of Audiology and Research at the Hearts for Hearing Foundation in Oklahoma City, uses his 22 years of cochlear implant experience to examine results from the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) Study based out of Australia to understand the long-term impact of age at implantation. The March 2020 FDA approval to expand pediatric indications to nine months further reinforces the urgency to give pediatric patients early access to sound, especially as they reach hearing and language milestones.

Moreover, the LOCHI study observed children from the age of hearing loss identification until early adulthood to explore speech, language, literacy, auditory, educational, vocational, social and pragmatic outcomes. Wolfe further recaps the factors that may influence hearing outcomes such as age of implantation.

This suggests the presence of a critical window for language development and auditory stimulation. Through partnership, together we can reach further to give pediatric patients early access to sound. Read more: http://pronews.cochlearamericas.com/t...