Early acoustic hearing and outcomes for children with cochlear implants
The Effects of Early Acoustic Hearing for Pediatric Cochlear Implant Recipients
This project looks at how keeping early acoustic hearing (like residual hearing or hearing aids) affects speech, language, and reading development for children who receive cochlear implants.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Washington University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Saint Louis, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11048521 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your child has hearing loss and is considering or has cochlear implants, this work will measure how well they hear both individual speech sounds and the rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech. Researchers will test children aged 0–11 who use hearing aids or implants with listening tasks, language and reading measures, and hearing-threshold tests. They will compare children using acoustic hearing in one or both ears (bimodal or bilateral arrangements) to determine the hearing levels where one approach gives better communication outcomes than another. Testing will occur at Washington University and may involve follow-up visits to track development over time.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are children aged 0–11 with mild to profound hearing loss who use hearing aids or are being considered for unilateral, bilateral, or bimodal cochlear implant care.
Not a fit: Adults, children outside the 0–11 age range, or children with no usable acoustic hearing may not find the results directly relevant to their care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: This work could help families and clinicians decide whether to keep acoustic hearing, add a second implant, or pursue specific therapy goals to improve speech and reading outcomes.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research supports the importance of speech-sound and prosody perception in typically hearing children and shows some benefits of bimodal hearing, but direct comparisons defining threshold cutoffs for pediatric implant choices remain limited.
Where this research is happening
Saint Louis, United States
- Washington University — Saint Louis, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Davidson, Lisa Surber — Washington University
- Study coordinator: Davidson, Lisa Surber
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.