Children's Bilateral Cochlear Implantation in Finland

Children's Bilateral Cochlear Implantation in Finland: a Prospective, Controlled, Multicenter Study

The purpose of this study is to evaluate short and long term outcomes (benefits and side-effects) of bilateral cochlear implantation and bilateral hearing aid rehabilitation in Finnish children.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Congenital severe or profound bilateral hearing impairment
• No functional benefit from conventional hearing aids (minimum 3 months trial)
• Radiologically (CT,MRI) patent inner ears and normal central auditory pathways
• Family is motivated for rehabilitation programme and gives a written consent
• Finnish or Swedish as the primary language in the home

Exclusion Criteria:

• A child has an additional anomaly or disability that may affect to his/her functional or neurological development
• Inner ear anomaly
• Mother's pregnancy duration less than 32 weeks