May: Cochlear Implant Best Practices for Adults and Children with Single-Sided Deafness (Now Viewing on Demand)

This two-series session focuses on cochlear implant evaluation, candidacy, outcomes and benefits for adults and children with single-sided deafness (SSD). The adult session will also include important elements about insurance coverage, and the pediatric session will discuss factors that can influence outcomes.

Allison M. Biever AuD, CCC-A
Rocky Mountain Ear Center PC 
Title of Presentation
Best Practices for Adult SSD CI Candidates and Recipients

This course covers best practices for evaluating adult cochlear implant (CI) single-sided deafness (SSD) candidates, including the insurance elements that need to be considered with this population. Additionally, the outcomes and benefits of the technology with this population are discussed.

This course is presented by AudiologyOnline in partnership with ACI Alliance.

Lisa Park AuD CCC-A
Associate Professor
Division Chief, The Children's Cochlear Implant Center at UNC
Research Audiologist, Division of Auditory Research
UNC Department of Otolaryngology/Head & Neck Surgery
Title of Presentation
Cochlear Implants as an Option for Children with Single-Sided Deafness

This course focuses on referral, candidacy, and the evaluation process for cochlear implantation (CI) in children with single-sided deafness (SSD). Expected outcomes and factors that could influence performance in this population are discussed.

This course is presented by AudiologyOnline in partnership with ACI Alliance.

April: The Power of Parents in Fostering Language in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children (Now Viewing on Demand)

These two sessions will explore how to fully support parents in language learning for their children with hearing loss. With the implementation of newborn hearing screening and accepted practice that state early intervention agencies complete diagnosis and initiate services (including fitting amplification) for children with congenital hearing loss by six months of age, we now recognize the “power of parents.” The role of professionals has shifted from professionals working with the child to supporting the entire family unit in utilizing the language of the home and heart—whether that language is English, Spanish, ASL or another. 

Dana Suskind MD
Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics 
Co-Director TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health 
University of Chicago 
Title of Presentation
Leveraging New Technology to Help Parents Foster Rich Language Environments 

In this session, Dr. Dana Suskind discusses how artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other emerging technologies can be used to better understand and, thus, optimize the role that parents play in promoting early language and cognitive development in children with hearing loss and children with typical hearing. Dr. Suskind covers the existing literature on foundational brain development and language skill acquisition, with an emphasis on the crucial role that parents and caregivers play in this process. She also identifies gaps in our collective knowledge on this topic and explains how technology can help fill those gaps. Finally, she shares several examples of tools being developed at the University of Chicago's TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health that will help individual parents boost their children’s foundational development—and also allow society to better support all parents in this essential task.

This course is presented by AudiologyOnline in partnership with ACI Alliance.

Karl R. White PhD 
Director, National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management
Emma Eccles Jones Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Education
Professor of Psychology
Utah State University
Title of Presentation
What’s Past is Prologue: Engaging Families in Continuing to Improve EHDI Programs

Permanent hearing loss affects 2-3 per 1,000 newborns. When not identified early in life, children who are deaf or hard of hearing lag behind their peers in language, social, and cognitive development, fail more frequently in school, and have difficulty being successfully employed. Family engagement has been critical in the development of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) that have made it possible for most children who are deaf or hard of hearing to develop similarly to their peers with typical hearing. However, a number of challenges and opportunities for improvement remain. This presentation summarizes the history of newborn hearing screening, describes the current status, and discusses some of the important challenges and emerging issues that could be addressed to further improve early identification of childhood hearing loss. Lessons learned over the past decades, recent advances based on research and policy initiatives, and the crucial role of families will be used to highlight how various stakeholders (e.g., health care providers, public health officials, parents, and educators) can continue to improve outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

This course is presented by AudiologyOnline in partnership with ACI Alliance.