Forum » Issues around implantation » How old is too young?
How old is too young?
Enquiry: Our daughter is four months old and we have been told that she is almost certainly profoundly deaf. We have an appointment with the ENT specialist next week. We have asked whether now is the right time to raise the issue of whether she can have a cochlear implant and were told that we should leave it until she is a year old. What is your view?
Reply: While four months may be too young to be implanted, It is not too young to raise the issue with the ENT consultant. Age at implantation is strongly correlated with outcomes later on but there is some debate about what is the youngest age to consider implantation. Some consultants happily implant before the age of 1 whereas others prefer to leave it until one year old. If you raise the issue with the consultant, s/he will be able to tell you whether your daughter would be a suitable candidate and counsel you on timelines for when this might happen.
Posted on November 27, 2009 15:16
Comments
In my experience the Implant Centre will take the referral from ENT and put the case on hold until baby is 6 months old, as some of the tests they have to do to find out whether an implant will be useful may be affected by maturation before this time. Then you will start the assessment process when baby is at least 6 months old. However it is true that age of implantation does depend on the surgeon and hospital you attend and your ENT surgeon should be able to give you this local information..
Posted by Jill Bradley on December 3, 2009 14:22
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