Barriers to early cochlear implantation

Abstract

Objective: Identify variables associated with paediatric access to cochlear implants (CIs). Design: Part 1. Trends over time for age at CI surgery (N ¼ 802) and age at hearing aid (HA) fitting (n ¼ 487) were examined with regard to periods before, during, and after newborn hearing screening (NHS). Part 2. Demographic factors were explored for 417 children implanted under 3 years of age. Part 3. Pre-implant steps for the first 20 children to receive CIs under 12 months were examined. Results: Part 1. Age at HA fitting and CI surgery reduced over time, and were associated with NHS implementation. Part 2. For children implanted under 3 years, earlier age at HA fitting and higher family socio-ec..