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December 18, 2009
Cochlear implant program at ECU celebrates 10 years
East Carolina University's Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Cochlear Implant Program of Eastern Carolina.
On Oct. 24, 12 cochlear implant recipients, their family and friends joined ECU speech and audiology faculty to commemorate the occasion.
More than 80 adults have received implants and services since 1999 from the program's team of specialists: faculty and staff in the ECU Speech-Language and Hearing Clinic, Dr. Bradley Brechtelsbauer with Eastern Carolina ENT-Head & Neck Surgery, and speech and audiology professionals at Pitt County Memorial Hospital.
“It really has changed the quality of their lives for so many of them,” said Dr. Gregg Givens, chairman of communication sciences and disorders in the College of Allied Health Sciences.
Cochlear implants are small, complex electronic devices that can help provide hearing to a person who has severe to profound hearing loss. The implants consist of an external portion that sits behind the ear and an internal portion surgeons place under the skin along with an electrode array that curls around the cochlea.
The event was coordinated by audiology doctoral student Janel Cosby, the first A.G. Bell Fellow at ECU. The university received one of nine $15,000 fellowships awarded across the country — and the only one in North Carolina — from the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for 2009-10.
The reunion gave early recipients and new patients alike the opportunity to share their experiences of receivng a cochlear implant, as well as a time for patients, their family and faculty to reconnect.
“It was good for them to get together,” said Dr. Sharon Rutledge, clinical assistant professor and audiologist who activates and programs patients' implants. “We could see how they're doing and what they're doing in their lives.”
As part of her fellowship, Cosby developed a checklist of realistic expectations that is distributed to patients. Counseling is provided before and after surgery.
“People really don't know what to expect,” Rutledge said. “When you activate them, they can hear, but they're not really processing or understanding speech. It takes time for the brain to adjust and retrain to sound or speech.”
Audiology doctoral students and speech language pathology students collaborate to provide aural rehabilitation under the direction of Debby Bengala, an ECU speech-language pathologist and clinical associate professor who assesses cochlear implant candidates' speech and language skills.
Patients from a 41-county area come to ECU's speech hearing and language outpatient clinic.
“The reason we started the program is that we wanted patients to have access to the latest technology and clinical services in the region so they wouldn't have to drive hours for service,” Bengala said.
http://www.reflector.com/news/community/cochlear-implant-program-at-ecu-celebrates-10-years-1013725.html
Posted by 4HL on December 18, 2009 2:48 AM
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