The findings of a latest research prove that deaf kids with cochlear implants have as high a quality of life as kids who have normal hearing.

Researchers from the Dallas Cochlear Implant program initiated this study to answer the queries of parents regarding the cochlear implant surgery and help them in deciding about getting cochlear implants for their babies.

Dr Betty A. Loy, lead author of the research informs, “They want to know: ‘Is my kid going to be made fun of? Is my kid going to be bullied? How is my kid going to feel about themselves with this apparatus on their head?”

“For profoundly deaf children who regularly use a cochlear implant, feelings about life overall are no better or worse than their hearing peers. These findings indicate that cochlear implantation has a positive effect on certain psycho-social domains,” she adds.

What is a cochlear implant?
A cochlear implant is an electronic device that helps in reinstating partial hearing in deaf people through the Otolaryngology surgery (head and neck surgery) that implants the device in the inner ear and is activated by another device worn outside the ear.

This device detours the damaged parts of the aural system of the body and directly stimulates the hearing nerve which enables the deaf to hear the sounds.

Study Details
84 deaf kids in the age bracket of 8 to 16 years, who had previously undergone cochlear implants, took part in this study that examined the effect of the implant on the life of these kids.

The study participants were questioned on their feelings about themselves, their family members, friends and school. Parents of these kids were also asked similar questions and the results helped the researchers in arriving at the conclusions of this research.

The researchers also examined the responses of 1,501 normal kids in the same age group, and the results were then compared.

Results of the questionnaire showed that overall quality of life (QOL) was similar in kids of both the groups, but the children with cochlear implants were found to have a notion that their QOL was lesser than their normal peers.

Deaf kids are pessimistic
Previous research has revealed that hearing-impaired kids have more difficulty in making friends and feel less socially accepted than normal children in the same age group.

And the cochlear implants can help in boosting their confidence, as it improves verbal communication and language development in deaf people.

The study and its findings have been published in the February issue of the journal, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery.