Non-use of cochlear implants in children: child and parent perspectives

Abstract

Five cases of non-use of cochlear implants by children were investigated through semi-structured interviews with the children and their carers. The children were interviewed at school by a researcher who is deaf, and the carers, all of whom were hearing, were interviewed at home by a hearing researcher when the children were not present. The principal reason for non-use was found to be that the children disliked the sensation of sound provided by the implant, with some instances of pain and facial twitching reported. Some of the children were resistant to the idea of an implant from the outset and in all cases use was never fully established. Implications are drawn relating to selection, tuning and habilitation.

Keywords:

• non-use
• tuning
• habilitation
• consent