Listening is a vehicle for us to share information on cochlear implants and hearing loss with hearing healthcare providers, adult CI recipients (and those exploring CI), parents and family members interested in CI, educators who work with deaf and hard of hearing children, and anyone wanting to learn more about cochlear implants. 

ACI Alliance is a not-for-profit organization created with the purpose of eliminating barriers to cochlear implantation by sponsoring research, driving heightened awareness and advocating for improved access to cochlear implants for people of all ages. There is a wealth of information on our website. 

Our work at ACI Alliance follows our mission encompassing research, advocacy, and awareness. Accordingly, Listening covers all three.

We encourage you to share sign-up details for this free e-newsletter with patients, family members, colleagues or anyone who may be interested.

Dr. Debara Tucci, Director of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institutes of Health will deliver the final opening plenary address on Saturday morning, July 13th in Vancouver. Dr. Tucci will speak on “Cochlear Implants and the Future of Hearing Health Care”. 

After Dr. Tucci's Closing Plenary on Saturday morning, the scientific program continues with the CI2024 final set of concurrent sessions full of more CI community endeavors, findings, and innovations for our attendees to explore and engage with presenters. See below for a sample list of sessions and some of the topics they will cover. You will find detailed session information here.

This two-part online series will emphasize the key role of parents in fostering language in children who are deaf and hearing. These two sessions will explore how to fully support parents in language learning for their children with hearing loss.

Speaker One (April 17, 12 Noon)
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

Brady Geilenfeldt - His Journey
Brady knows how to meet a challenge. Born deaf, he received two cochlear implants as an infant and very young boy, and now at 23, he has become someone the Listen community admires and the littles look up to. Listen to his journey.

As a specialized procedure, cochlear implant (CI) surgery is not performed in all ENT clinics. Search the Organizational Member Directory for a center that specializes in cochlear implantation. Enter a city and/or state (states are labeled as “Location” here) or simply click on the "continue" button to view ACI Alliance Organizational Members—all of whom have a focus in cochlear implants.

Fontbonne University in St. Louis recently announced they will be closing after 100 years in operations in summer 2025 due to financial reasons. Fontbonne has provided speech, language and hearing services for more than 50 years, with clinical services provided by students under the supervision of faculty members, and their closure will certainly be felt in the St. Louis community.

We are thrilled to announce that Rally Caps is an official selection of the ReelAbilities Film Festival in New York. The screening will be on Sunday, April 7th at 2:30 pm at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave, New York.

If you are in the New York area and would like to purchase discount tickets for the in-person NYC viewing or the streaming available for a short time starting on April 3, please use the 20% discount code: acia20. It is applicable for all festival general admission virtual and in-person screenings at the main festival venue (excluding opening night). If you are not able to attend this viewing, stay tuned for more opportunities in the near future to see this wonderful, family friendly, heartwarming film. 

A Missouri bill to ensure Medicaid coverage for adults needing cochlear implants and hearing aids continues to advance. Recently, the bill passed through the state’s House of Representatives and will hopefully be taken up in the Senate before the close of the legislative session. Information on the bill can be found here and click below to view a short news clip on the importance of the bill.           

CPT code 92622—Diagnostic analysis, programming, and verification of an auditory osseointegrated sound processor, any type; first 60 minutes

CPT code 92623—Diagnostic analysis, programming, and verification of an auditory osseointegrated sound processor, any type; each additional 15 minutes (list separately in addition to code for primary procedure)

As of January 1, 2024, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)  added two new CPT codes for programming sound processors for Auditory Osseointegrated Devices.  These changes are reflected in the updated CMS guidance. If a state has not implemented these changes for Medicaid services, we urge clinicians to contact their state Medicaid office and alert them to the issuance of these new CPT codes.

ADULTS: Please share your experiences and thoughts about aural rehabilitation post CI with this group of CI professionals who are seeking to address this service more comprehensively. If you already took the survey, best if you don't take it again but we are looking for more responders. Thank you.

Brief Summary: This survey aims to explore adult cochlear implant users' experience with aural rehabilitation as it relates to improving listening skills and knowledge of their devices. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, and it will help our Cochlear Implant field to better understand the current rehabilitation experiences of CI recipients. Findings will help guide future innovation and implementation of rehabilitation services to support recipients’ needs.

Audience: This survey is to be completed by adult cochlear implant recipients.