WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital’s Otolaryngology team committed to helping young children hear

“This actually gives them the opportunity to hear sounds even if they’re born not being able to hear anything,” Castaño said. “They can hear, and therefore can learn to speak. …

“Over 90 percent of kids who are born not being able to hear are born to hearing parents, so this is very distressing to parents. Teaching your child how to speak and worrying if your child is falling behind is a different story when you know that your kid can’t hear at all, and without something like a cochlear implant, your option to communicate with your child would be American Sign Language. This gives them the opportunity to integrate into the hearing and speaking world.”

According to Castaño, cochlear implants differ greatly from hearing aids, explaining that while hearing aids amplify acoustic sound to allow the user to hear better, cochlear implants bypass that acoustic process altogether, instead focusing on providing a form of hearing to patients who, in many cases, otherwise can’t hear at all.

“It’s surgically implanted into the cochlea and electrically stimulates the nerve of hearing, which then goes to the brain,” Castaño said. “It’s an option we have for when hearing has been lost beyond where a hearing aid would even help.”

He noted that while those who use a cochlear implant hear differently than normal because of this, the ability to hear at all is still a huge benefit, especially for young children during a crucial time in their brain development.

“When you’re in your first year of life, your brain is rapidly growing and developing, as is speech and language,” Castaño said. “You want to implant early to kind of maximize those brain developments, and children who are implanted early do better than children who are implanted late in life.”

Unfortunately, Castaño said, pediatric hearing loss is underreported, with only an estimated 40 percent of cochlear implant-eligible children actually receiving one. He said there are several factors that play into this, such as children passing their initial hearing test at birth and later developing issues.

But no matter the reason, he encouraged parents to come in and test their children again if they believe something is amiss.

For both detection and surgery, Castaño said that WVU Medicine offers the best care in the state, and he encouraged parents to seek aid there.

“We are grateful and and proud of our pediatric otolaryngology team, faculty, advanced practice providers, audiologists, and staff for making this happen for the children of West Virginia, and we are especially grateful to Dr. Castano,” Hassan Ramadan, WVU Medicine otolaryngologist and Sinus Center director, said. “This program took off six years ago, and 82 children with severe or profound hearing loss have been implanted so far. I concur with Dr. Castano’s plea to make parents and care takers aware of the technology that is available for their children at WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital.”