Behavioral effects of cochlear prosthesis on deafened monkeys

No deleterious effects of electrical stimulation on deafened young monkeys were noted using the behavioral techniques described. Due to the small size of this study and the variability of individual monkey behavior, it is impossible to draw definitive conclusions from this study. However, the results strongly suggest that deafened young monkeys with functioning cochlear implants showed apparent improvement in social behavior over deafened nonimplanted subjects. These changes may result from environmental and vocalization sound awareness and/or prevention of auditory deprivation provided by the prosthesis.