Graeme Clark Collection

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Cochlear implants for adults and children

Clark, Graeme M. (Martin Dunitz, 2002)

Cochlear implants which use multiple-electrode speech-processing strategies are now established clinical entity for children and adults, as a result, preoperative selection and (re)habilitation are key issues. It is hard to realize that it was only in the 1960s and 1970s when many scientists and clinicians said that successful cochlear implants were not possible in the foreseeable future. The questions that had to be addressed by a multi disciplinary research effort are discussed, and the solutions achieved from the University of Melbourne's perspective are presented. However, the main aim of this chapter is to focus on preoperative selection, and (re)habilitation, including the results obtained. These issues are discussed primarily with reference to data from the University of Melbourne's Cochlear Implant Clinic at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital. As this is a book on audiological medicine only, an overview of surgical principles is presented. The surgical management of the patient is, of course, very important, so for more details the reader is referred elsewhere. Cochlear implantation has also been the subject of quite intense ethical debate, particularly over its use for children. For this reason, a discussion of ethical issues is included. Finally, the chapter concludes with a vision of research in the next Millennium.