Pediatric performance with the Med-El Combi 40+ cochlear implant system

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Pediatric Otolaryngology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Profound bilateral hearing loss affects pediatric populations, with 90% experiencing onset before age 3.
• Various etiologies contribute to hearing loss in children.
• Cochlear implantation is a key intervention for severe to profound hearing loss.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Med-El Combi 40+ cochlear implant system in children.
• To assess improvements in speech perception and auditory skills after 6 and 12 months of device use.
• To investigate changes in communication methods with device usage.

Main Methods:

• Speech perception measures and subjective auditory skill assessments were administered to children with varying device experience (6 and 12 months).
• Objective tests and subjective therapist surveys were utilized.
• Participants included 68 children with 6 months and 49 with 12 months of Med-El Combi 40+ experience.

Main Results:

• Statistically significant improvements were observed across a wide range of speech perception skills and auditory behaviors.
• Subjective data indicated shifts in primary receptive and expressive communication methods.
• Every child demonstrated improvement in at least one speech perception measure.

Conclusions:

• The Med-El Combi 40+ cochlear implant system provides meaningful auditory information for profoundly deaf children.
• The device supports significant functional improvements in speech perception.
• Cochlear implantation facilitates enhanced communicative skill development in pediatric users.