Hearing Success Story Illustrates Leading-Edge Techniques at Mass. Eye and Ear
“When he first walked into the room and I first met Dr. Lee, I felt hope,” recalls Moi, the mother of Elle, a young child who was born profoundly deaf and received bilateral cochlear implant surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. Today, Elle enjoys soccer, basketball and tae kwon do. “Cochlear implants are really an incredible innovation of science,” explains Daniel Lee, MD, director of Pediatric Otology and Neurotology. “It’s a bionic device that can provide hearing when really nothing else can help.”
The Pediatric Ear, Hearing, and Balance Center at Mass. Eye and Ear cares for children with an array of conditions, including complex ear disorders, mild to profound hearing loss, and dizziness. A team of caregivers provides early intervention, usually in the first few weeks of life, when children are in the critical stages of hearing development.
Doctors at Mass. Eye and Ear analyze audiology outcomes following bilateral cochlear implant surgery and study balance function, optical stimulation of hearing pathways, causes of hearing loss in preterm infants and effectiveness of newborn hearing screening. These clinicians work to create positive and often revolutionary outcomes for patients like eight-year-old Elle.
“We went through three weeks of recovery time after the surgery,” recalls Moi. “I remember the activation date, I remember her sitting on [her father’s] lap, and I thought, ‘Oh my god, did she just hear something?’”
Mass. Eye and Ear is at the forefront of hearing research and development. Stories like that of Elle are giving hope to families who have a child with hearing loss. Visit MassEyeAndEar.org to learn more about pediatric ear, nose, and throat services at Mass. Eye and Ear.