Today there are currently over 30,000 people worldwide with cochlear implants. Over 8,000 of those people are children. The choice to give children the opportunity to hear through the cochlear implant is increasing at an understandably remarkable rate. Today, while one out of ten profoundly deaf children enjoys the benefits of the cochlear implant, studies have projected those numbers to increase to one out of three in the next ten years. After receiving a cochlear implant, people report being able to hear speech and distinguish words without lip-reading, use the telephone, enjoy music and to become fully aware of speech and environmental sounds.
Implant users report significant improvement in their ability to understand speech.
Multi-channel cochlear implants have been shown to provide substantial benefit to children in the acquisition of speech skills. The cochlear implant has allowed children to attend schools in their communities with their friends, adults to work in such diverse fields as medicine, law and engineering. The cochlear implant has allowed people to become active participants in their communities and families. The vast majority of children using cochlear implants show significant improvement in their ability to hear as compared with their pre-implant performance with hearing aids or other devices. Children have even been able to develop the ability to recognize speech without lip-reading.