Helping deaf children with the ring of sound

Deafness Research UK PhD student Rosie Lovett is working with Professor Quentin Summerfield at the University of York to look at the potential benefits to young children of being fitted with two cochlear implants.

[PhD Studentship, 2006-2009]

Throughout the world, about 50,000 children have been helped to hear with cochlear implants, mainly with a single implant in one ear.

There is growing interest in providing children with two implants – one in each ear – because this could potentially improve the child's ability to locate the sources of sounds and to track their movements. These advantages should help children to know where to look to see who is talking at home and at school, and to know where to move to avoid hazards when outdoors.

The challenge for research is to demonstrate whether these advantages are realised when children are fitted with two implants. Without such proof, the NHS is unlikely to fund two implants per child.

To test children's sound location abilities, the project will use new equipment, called the ring of sound, which consists of a circular ring of loudspeakers together with a set of video displays that provide reinforcement to sustain a child's interest.

Initially, the tests will be used with children with normal hearing in order to establish how these abilities normally improve with age. Then, the tests will be used with children with two implants, and children with one implant and a hearing aid in the other ear.

We hope to learn whether there are advantages from having two cochlear implants compared with the less invasive option of one implant and an acoustic hearing aid.