MED

Editor: We've long known the benefits of bilateral hearing aids (having a hearing aid in each ear) over wearing a single aid. Pretty much everyone agrees that people with hearing loss in both ears should wear an aid in each ear. But the current standard for cochlear implants (CIs) is to implant one side only. In view of the success of bilateral hearing aids, it seems reasonable to expect that bilateral CIs would significantly improve speech comprehension for people with hearing loss.

MED-EL has undertaken a study to evaluate this proposition. Here are excerpts from their press release.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On September 8th, 2001, at the American Academy of Otolaryngology's annual conference in Denver, MED-EL announced the launch of an important clinical research project. This project will study bilateral cochlear implantation, an area that has great potential benefits for the hearing impaired community. Bilateral implantation, the process of providing cochlear implants to patients in both ears, has already been shown to enhance performance compared to single- device implantation. "MED-EL has conducted extensive research globally on the benefits of bilateral implantation," says Chris Bertrand, CEO of MED-EL Corporation, North America. "With the recent FDA approval, we are delighted to announce the start of an extensive study in the United States on the benefits of bilateral technology."

The study is to begin immediately with patient surgeries already scheduled in September. "Our recent FDA approval has opened the door in the United States to allow MED-EL to offer innovative solutions to the hearing impaired," states Chris Bertrand. "Patients and medical professionals will continue to see exciting new announcements in the months to come, such as new applications for our advanced TEMPO+ Behind-the-Ear Speech Processor." MED-EL provides a complete family of products and services to support the various needs of cochlear implant users and medical professionals.

About MED-EL

Over 25 years ago, researchers who later founded MED-EL developed one of the world's first cochlear implants. Today, MED-EL is the world's fastest growing cochlear implant company and the global leader in innovative technology in this field. MED-EL products are the result of collaborative efforts by MED-EL engineers, surgeons, audiologists, therapists and, of course, implant users.

MED-EL has 14 offices worldwide including a North American Headquarters in Durham, North Carolina and Worldwide Headquarters in Innsbruck, Austria. With over 6,000 TEMPO+ Speech Processors worldwide, users from over 258 cochlear implant centers in 54 countries are already benefiting from MED-EL's commitment to enriching the lives of the deaf and hearing impaired.