Associate Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (United States)

Dr. Lisa Park is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of North Carolina and the Division Chief of The Children’s Cochlear Implant Center. Her clinical research focuses on expanding cochlear implant indications for children and optimizing outcomes for non-traditional pediatric cochlear implant recipients.

Unilateral Hearing Loss in Children: Cochlear Implantation and the Benefits of Bilateral Hearing

Children with unilateral hearing loss (UHL) have difficulty with speech perception in noise and spatial hearing as compared to children with typical hearing. They are known to be at risk for language delays and difficulty in school. Assistive options that reroute sound from the poorer to better hearing ear do not allow for binaural hearing. Research has shown that a cochlear implant (CI) can enable the use of binaural cues to improve speech perception. This presentation will review evidence-based guidelines for candidacy and management, and discuss future directions for research into the treatment of childhood UHL.

By the end of this session, learners will be able to:

1. 1. Identify risks of unilateral hearing loss in children.
2. 2. Describe potential treatment methods for unilateral hearing loss.
3. 3. Outline the current research findings for cochlear implantation in cases of pediatric unilateral hearing loss.