Cochlear Implants Researchers at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, have found that the earlier a deaf child receives a cochlear implant, the better the child's speech development. A cochlear implant is an electronic device that is implanted in the inner ear of a profoundly deaf person. It stimulates the auditory nerve and allows the individual to be aware of sounds. Researchers explain that being aware of sounds appears to help language development, …showed first 75 words of 332 total…

…showed last 75 words of 332 total…implants in the pediatric population." Dr. Svirsky and colleagues conclude that "cochlear implants have a significant beneficial effect on the development of English language in profoundly deaf children", and that "the best performers among children with implants, not only achieved very high levels of speech perception, but also seemed to be developing an oral linguistic system based largely on auditory input from a cochlear implant". Bibliography 1. Psychological Science 2000; 11: 1-6. 2. Reuters Health Information, newsstand @ thrive, march 2000.