Cochlear Implant

We help families whose children deemed appropriate for cochlear implant candidacy evaluation or have received a cochlear implant, and follow these children until they reach age 18.

About

Cochlear Implant Services began in 1988 and since then over 600 children have received a cochlear implant. We are the only pediatric cochlear implant team in the province of B.C. and Yukon. Our clinic is located at BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH). Our multi-disciplinary team includes surgeons, audiologists, social worker, and psychologist. The team follows children who have received cochlear implant(s) until the age of 18, when their care is transferred over to the Adult Cochlear Implant Program at St. Paul’s Hospital for ongoing follow up.

Our team

Audiologists

Grace Cheung, MSc, RAUD
Alison Jones, MSc, RAUD
Selma Karsan, MSc, RAUD
Lisa Yamaguchi, AuD, RAUD

Audiometric technician

Samantha Gill

Administrative secretary

Catherine Lavrench

Surgeons

Dr. Mark Felton
Dr. Amjad Tobia

Social worker

Jessica Lenihan, MSW, RSW

Psychologist

Dr. Laura-Lynn Stewart, PhD, RPsych

Prepare

Evaluation process

If the referral for your child is deemed appropriate by the Cochlear Implant Team, the administrative staff will contact you and send you an information package.

If you wish to proceed, you will fill out and return the patient questionnaire to the clinic. Several appointments will be booked with different members of the interdisciplinary team to help determine if a cochlear implant is an option for your child.

The candidacy assessment includes:

Audiology review to measure the child’s hearing levels, and evaluate hearing aid benefit. Please note: this may take up to three hours and may take additional appointments to gather all the information needed.
A review of the early intervention services that the child has received, and how the child has progressed
Medical review to ensure that the child does not have any medical conditions that might prevent the use of an implant.
Vaccination evaluation (certain vaccines are a requirement for surgery)
Social work appointment
A CT and MRI scan of the inner ear (similar to x-rays) to ensure the inner ear is suitable for insertion of the electrode array

Families can expect approximately six appointments for the evaluation process, some of these appointments may be coordinated on the same day.

Once these assessments are complete, the Cochlear Implant team will discuss the results, and determine whether a cochlear implant is recommended. If your child is a candidate for implantation, your family can then decide whether to go ahead.

Surgery

The surgery is done in the operating room at BC Children’s Hospital under general anesthetic.

The surgery on average, takes about four hours (single ear) and seven hours (both ears). Children may be discharged on the same day or may stay overnight for monitoring.

One week after surgery there is a follow-up appointment.

It generally takes three to five weeks for the surgical incision to heal, but most children resume normal daily activities within days after the surgery. However, no active sports or climbing is recommended for six weeks after surgery.

Patient handouts

Follow-up

After surgery

Approximately one month after the surgery, the child will return to BC Children’s Hospital to have the implant activated.

At the time of activation, your Cochlear Implant audiologist will set up one or more listening programs for your child. This process is called “mapping”. For the first year after surgery, the child will need to be closely followed every three months. These appointments will occur at BC Children’s Hospital.

Follow-up appointments

Generally, families can expect six to eight follow-up appointments for the first year after the child receives the cochlear implant. After the first year, it is two to three appointments per year and then later once a year.

Habilitation/rehabilitation

In addition to these appointments, participation in habilitation/ rehabilitation is an essential part of the process of learning to hear with a cochlear implant.

For children under five years old

Early interventionists are qualified professionals with experience working with babies newly identified with hearing loss. They provide families with the information they need to help their child develop early communication (including listening, language, and speech).

We encourage you to work with your early interventionists and cochlear implant audiologist to discover what communication approaches work best for your own baby and family however, it is important to have an emphasis on auditory training.

For children older than five years old

CI audiologists can provide suggestions for caregivers to support their child.

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Provincial Health Services Authority