Caiden Moran, an active and curious five-year-old is a success story for many children like him who suffer from deafness. He is able to hear sounds for the first time because of an auditory brainstem implant (ABI) commonly called a bionic ear.
A clinical trial uses bionic ear technology for deaf children between 2 and 5 years
The ABI or ‘bionic ear’ developed by the House Research Institute in California targets deaf children who are born without cochlea. The cochlea is the part of the ear that senses sound and conveys this information to the brain for sound processing. Therefore, in infants born without cochlea, traditional cochlear implants are futile; they require strategies that alter sound processing at the brain level. This formed the basis for the 5-year clinical trial approved by the FDA and backed by funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute on Deafness and Communications Disorders (NIDD).
This multi-institute trial began in 2014 in conjunction with the Children’s hospital at Los Angeles and the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. It recruits children between 2 and 5 years of age who have been unresponsive to standard treatment such as hearing aids and cochlear implants. So far 5 out of the proposed 10 candidates have successfully received implants.
How does the bionic ear work?
The ABI attaches to the side of the head and consists of a microphone and a transmitter that converts external sounds to electrical signals. A receiver implanted in the brain stem receives the electrical signals and stimulates the auditory neurons present in the brain. This process therefore mediates hearing by circumventing the inner ear entirely.
Bionic ears have been approved for use in adults with brain tumors on the hearing nerve, but were found to be minimally effective. It is hoped that younger kids like Caiden would respond better to them given the fact that their brains are more adaptable.
The outlook for children implanted with the bionic ear
Caiden was implanted with the device in January 2015, and has shown positive signs of responding to auditory cues in his therapy sessions. Scientists believe that in case of auditory implants, the earlier you intervene, the better the chances of the brain to learn and respond to sounds. Caiden has a long road to recovery ahead; his brain is slowly getting used to the concept of sound and reacting to it. Nevertheless, he’s part of the nascent yet exciting history of the ‘bionic ear’.
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Thanks to the Bionic Ear a Five-Year Old Boy Can Hear for the First Time
