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.

Register for our next Tuesday Talk, October 11, What Happens at the CI Activation? Speaker Meredith Holcomb AuD; Director, Hearing Implant Program, University of Miami Ear Institute will talk about the CI Activation beginning at 12PM EST. 

Rally Caps, a new family film about baseball, is based upon a book by Jodi Michelle Cutler and Stephen J Cutler. The book was inspired by Jodi’s experience as the mother of a son with profound hearing loss who received a cochlear implant. ACI Alliance was pleased to provide informational support for the public on cochlear implants, which is posted on the film’s website. We are delighted that the film will premiere at the Heartland International Film Festival (HIFFF) on October 8^th.

The recently published ACI Alliance Task Force papers on CI candidacy and management are being widely used, including to help insurers assess their coverage policies. ACI Alliance developed two infographics to summarize the highlights of each paper. Please feel free to utilize and share the infographics.

ACI Alliance Executive Director Donna Sorkin presented “Cochlear Implants: Confirming Reality, Dispelling Myths” during the September 2022 Topic Tuesday on cochlear implants for children. She covered how to start the implant process, how often CIs fail, who are candidates for CIs, what does a CI sound like, and she shared her own personal experience as a CI user.

SC Hands & Voices and Beginnings SC partner together to host Topic Tuesday, a webinar every third Tuesday of the month for parents of deaf and hard of hearing children and professionals who serve them. 

By Sarah Sydlowski

Cochlear implantation is commonly viewed as a treatment of last resort. When benefit from hearing aids is limited or non-existent, a cochlear implant (CI) is commonly accepted as a reasonable treatment option. There are substantially fewer implant recipients, but is this disproportionate uptake of CIs a reflection of clinical reality or is it indicative of an outdated system? 

On September 26, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published details on its decision to expand coverage for cochlear implants under Medicare. This provides a significant improvement in access to care for older adults who are Medicare beneficiaries allowing individuals with bilateral moderate to profound hearing loss and hearing test scores up to ≤60% correct to qualify for a cochlear implant under Medicare.

Authored by: Lee, David S.; Herzog, Jacques A.; Walia, Amit; Firszt, Jill B.; Zhan, Kevin Y.; Durakovic, Nedim; Wick, Cameron C.; Buchman, Craig A.; Shew, Matthew A.

This article looks to assess the clinical application of five recently published cochlear implant (CI) candidacy evaluation (CICE) referral screening tools through external validation.

Authored by: Zhang, Lisa; Ding, Andy S.; Xie, Deborah.; Creighton, Francis

Approximately 6% of adults eligible for cochlear implantation (CI) undergo surgery. This study aims to understand how general perceptions about CI contribute to barriers causing this low utilization rate.