Deaf children who get cochlear implants early in life get biggest language boost, concludes largest-ever study

By Kara Gavin - Health System Public Relations

The younger deaf and hearing-impaired children are when they receive cochlear implants, the better they will do on speech recognition tests later in life, according to results of the largest and most carefully designed study of its kind.

In fact, Health System (UMHS) researchers report, the positive effect of early implantation is evident even in comparisons of children of various ages who have had their implants for the same length of time, despite the older children’s maturity advantage.

read complete article at: http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/0001/Jan22_01/19.htm