Skip to content
Cochlear Logo
Cochlear - Pediatric Journey
Scroll Down to Learn More
We want them to hear the sound of their own happiness.

Hearing solutions for your child.

There are more hearing loss solutions for your child today than ever before, and selecting the most appropriate hearing technology is critical to your child’s hearing success. You will work closely with an audiologist to determine the best solution for your child today and as the hearing loss changes over time.

When a hearing aid is not enough for your child.

Hearing aids help many people, including children who experience mild to moderate hearing loss. However, for children with more severe types of hearing loss, hearing aids might not be enough for them to understand sounds and learn speech. Their inner, outer or middle ear may be damaged to the point where amplification alone may not provide them with access to meaningful sound.

If you think hearing aids may not be the right solution for your child, it’s important to consider a hearing implant solution sooner rather than later. In fact, research suggests delaying implantation to extend hearing aid use for children may be detrimental to language growth after being implanted.3

How can a hearing implant help your child?

Predicting how well your child will do with a hearing implant is difficult because there are many factors to take into consideration. However, we know through experience and research that your child could experience the following by hearing with an implant:4

  • Improved auditory awareness of sounds
  • Improved development of speech and language skills
  • Improved quality of life
  • Improved educational outcomes

Hearing implant solutions for many types of hearing loss.

Just as no two stories of hearing loss are the same, neither are the stories of overcoming it. In many situations, Cochlear can help with one of these treatment options – a cochlear implant, Cochlear™ Hybrid™ Hearing* or a bone conduction solution. To determine which is right for your child, familiarize yourself with the following information and schedule an appointment with a Hearing Implant Specialist to start the discussion.

Growing up with Cochlear

Patrick’s Story, age 7
Patrick’s Story, age 3

Cochlear Implants

Although there is no cure for hearing loss, the cochlear implant has become widely recognized as an established treatment for children with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss.4

The criteria to qualify for a cochlear implant are:

Children (9-24 months)*:

Profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears and limited benefit from hearing aids.

* In the United States, the cochlear implant system is intended for use in children 9 to 24 months of age who have bilateral profound sensorineural deafness and demonstrate limited benefit from appropriate binaural hearing aids. Children two years of age or older may demonstrate severe to profound hearing loss bilaterally. In Canada, the cochlear implant system is intended for use in children 12 to 24 months of age who have bilateral profound sensorineural deafness and demonstrate limited benefit from appropriate binaural hearing aids. Children two years of age or older may demonstrate severe to profound hearing loss bilaterally.

Children (2-17 years):

Severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears with limited benefit from hearing aids and speech scores of less than 30 percent correct when using hearing aids.

Introducing the Cochlear™ Nucleus® Implant System.

With the Cochlear™ Nucleus® Implant System, children with severe to profound sensorineural hearing loss in both ears can gain access to the world of sound; and speech can be learned at the same pace as other hearing children.4-9 It is designed to make sounds not only louder, but clearer, which is critical to help your child understand sound and learn to talk.

How it works.

There are two primary components of the Nucleus System:

How hearing works illustration

  1. The external sound processor
  2. The implant - surgically placed underneath the skin and attached to an electrode array that's inserted in the inner ear (cochlea)

Watch a video of how the Nucleus System with the Nucleus 7 Sound Processor works.

Nucleus 6 Sound Processor

The Nucleus® 7 Sound Processor

Behind-the-ear
Uses two tiny microphones that convert sound into digital signals. Its lightweight coil is held in place with a magnet that connects with the magnet in the implant under the skin.

Cochlear™ Hybrid™ Hearing

Does your child hear some sounds, but not others?

If your child can hear some sounds, but struggles to hear other sounds like whistles and birds chirping, Cochlear™ Hybrid™ Hearing* may be able to help by amplifying the natural low-frequency hearing your child may have after surgery and provide access to the high-frequency sounds they are missing for a richer hearing experience.

How it works.

Cochlear™ Hybrid™ Hearing* is a combination of hearing aid and cochlear implant technologies, which use electro-acoustic input. It uses acoustic amplification of the natural low-frequency hearing your child may have after surgery, while taking advantage of cochlear implant technology to restore access to the sounds they are missing. Hybrid Hearing is compatible with our broad Nucleus Electrode portfolio.

Ask your child's audiologist if Cochlear Hybrid Hearing may be a solution to help provide your child's best hearing experience.

Nucleus 6 Sound Processor

Bone Conduction Solutions

If your child is deaf in one ear, or has conductive or mixed hearing loss, a bone conduction solution might help.

Try it first, then decide.

With a bone conduction system, your child has the unique advantage of hearing the difference first. A Hearing Implant Specialist can help him or her try (or demo) a sound processor so they can hear how it might sound before you make any decisions.

Cochlear™ Baha® Implant System

The Cochlear™ Baha® 5 Implant System is designed to provide a more complete and fulfilling listening experience to children suffering from single-sided deafness, conductive or mixed hearing loss. It has the potential to give your child the freedom and confidence to enjoy going to a movie, hear the coach across the soccer field, participate in the classroom and socialize with friends.

How it works.

While a hearing aid tries to push sound through the damaged part of the ear, the Baha System uses the body's natural ability to conduct sound through bone vibrations by bypassing the damaged outer or middle ear to send more clear, crisp sound directly to your child's hearing nerve.

There are three components of every Baha System.

  1. The external sound processor
  2. An abutment or magnetic attachment
  3. The implant

Cochlear™ Osia® System

The Osia System is a brand new hearing implant that uses a Piezo Power™ transducer that expands and contracts to create powerful vibrations to send sound naturally to the inner ear, through bone conduction. The implant is made up of two parts, the Osia® Implant and the Osia® 2 Sound Processor.

Osia 2 Sound Processor

The Cochlear Osia System is the world's first osseointegrated, steady-state active system. This system utilizes innovative technologies specifically designed to work in and with the body, to help children with single-sided deafness, conducive or mixed hearing loss hear their best. The Osia System uses the body’s natural ability to conduct sound through bone conduction, which can help your child hear speech better, particularly in noisy situations.

How the Osia System works.

How the Osia System works illustration

  1. The sound processor captures sound in the air and digitally analyses the signal.
  2. The processed signal and power are sent through to the implant.
  3. The Piezo Power transducer vibrates, sending vibrations through the implant to the bone.
  4. The vibrations travel to the inner ear where they are converted into electrical impluses and sent to the brain to be interpreted as sound.

Criteria to qualify for a bone conduction solution:

 

Children (0-4 years):

Children under the age of 5 do not yet qualify for a Bone Conduction Implant. However, a Softband and SoundArc™ can help your child achieve better hearing. Both are non-surgical solutions for your child's hearing loss, until your child is ready for an implant.

Children (5 years and older):

Depending on the type and degree of hearing loss, children with single-sided deafness, conductive hearing loss or mixed hearing loss may qualify for the Cochlear™ Baha® Bone Conduction Implant System or the Osia® Implant System**.

Baha wearing options

How Hearing Through Bone Conduction Works:

 

The Osia® System

Invisible connection
Uses a magnetic connection to attach the sound processor to the implant.

The Baha® 5 Connect System

Direct connection
Uses a small abutment to attach the sound processor to the implant.



Find Out More

Interested in learning about how hearing implants could help your child? Please complete the short form below to receive a free Resource Guide.

*The Acoustic Component should only be used when behavioral audiometric thresholds can be obtained and the recipient can provide feedback regarding sound quality.

**In the United States, the Osia 2 Implant System is cleared for children ages 12 and older. The Baha 5 Implant System is cleared for children ages 5 and older.

References
  1. Tharpe AM, Gustafson S. Management of Children with Mild, Moderate, and Moderately Severe Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Otolaryngol Clin North Am 2015 December: 983-994.
  2. Semenov, YR, Yeh, ST, Seshamani, M, Wang, N-Y, Tobey, EA, Eisenberg, LS, Quittner, AL, Frick, KD, Niparko, JK, CDaCI Investigative Team. Age-Dependent Cost-Utility of Pediatric Cochlear Implantation. Ear Hear. 2013;34(4):402-412.
  3. Niparko JK(1), Tobey EA, Thal DJ, Eisenberg LS, Wang NY, Quittner AL, Fink NE. Spoken language development in children following cochlear implantation. JAMA. 2010 Apr 21;303(15):1498-506.
  4. Novak MA, Firszt JB, Rotz LA, et al. Cochlear implants in infants and toddlers. Ann Otol Rhino Laryngol Suppl 2000;185:46-49.
  5. Dunn CC, Walker EA, Oleson J, Kenworthy M, Van Voorst T, Tomblin JB, Ji H, Kirk KI, McMurray B, Hanson M, Gantz BJ. Longitudinal speech perception and language performance in pediatric cochlear implant users: the effect of age at implantation. Ear Hear. 2014 Mar-Apr;35(2):148-60.
  6. Hammes DM, Novak MA, Rotz LA, et al. Early identification and the cochlear implant: Critical factors for spoken language development. Ann Otol Rhino Laryngol 2002;111:74-78.
  7. Nicholas JG, Geers AE. Will they catch up? The role of age at cochlear implantation in the spoken language development of children with severe to profound hearing loss. J Speech Lang Hear Res 2007;50:1048-1062.
  8. Nicholas JG, Geers AE. Expected test scores for preschoolers with a cochlear implant who use spoken language. Am J Speech Lang Pathol 2008;17:121-138.
  9. Robbins AM, Osberger MJ, Miyamoto RT, et al. Language development in young children with cochlear implants. Adv Otorhinolaryngol 1995;50:160-166.
  10. Litovsky RY, Johnstone PM, Godar SP. Benefits of bilateral cochlear implants and/or hearing aids in children. Int J Audiol. 2006; 45(Suppl): S78-91.
Back to Top